RE “Cellphone bans are bad policy” (Letters, Sept. 3): Cellphone bans are not bad policy. Ken Michaud cites the recent MIT study that found poor overall driving ability among those drivers who admitted using cellphones while driving. This study, however, looked at only 108 Greater Boston drivers. Other researchers have found repeatedly over the years that cellphone use significantly impairs driving.
David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drews of the University of Utah, for example, have shown that use of a cellphone while driving causes “inattention blindness.” This blindness is equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent. In other words, driving drunk.
Comments
Thanks, Sally Ann Conally, for reminding us that MIT researchers have found that the use of cellphones distracts drivers. So, please, what else is new? Why did we wait for the cellphone to alert us to the dangers of inattention?