

SYDNEY, Australia (Agence France-Presse) — Motorists using mobile phones are more likely to crash their cars than drunken drivers, Australian researchers said yesterday.
Researchers from the emergency department of the Royal Melbourne Hospital found that drivers who use hand-held mobile phones are four times as likely as other drivers to have a collision, double the risk of drivers who exceed the blood alcohol limit.
The risk of a fatality increased ninefold when using a mobile phone — compared to drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of between 0.05 and 0.09, who are 11 times more likely to cause death than a sober, undistracted driver.
“Inattention is a contributing factor in 35 percent of accidents, and police reports indicate that significantly higher rates of accidents related to driver inattention are found among drivers using mobile phones,” the researchers said in their study, which was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
During observation tests on city streets and highways in the southern city of Melbourne on three consecutive Fridays last year, the researchers found that around 1 in 5 drivers used hand-held mobile phones despite 15-year-old laws banning their use.
Lead researcher David Taylor said a cultural shift in attitude is necessary to cut road risks.
“There’s been quite a cultural shift with relation to drunk driving, and I would like to see the public become a lot more aware of the mobile-phone driving issue as well,” he said.
“It has potentially devastating consequences.
“It might take a bit of arm bending to try to improve this nasty statistic that we’ve demonstrated. People these days almost expect they’ve got a right to 24-hour, every-minute communication on their phone.”
By H. Leighton Steward
Fantasy replaces reality in Obama's green economy

By George Jahn - Associated Press
Iran is poised to greatly expand uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker to a ...

By Nekesa Mumbi - Associated Press
Clapping hands and swaying to gospel hymns in the church where Whitney Houston’s powerful voice ...

By Chris Kahn - Associated Press
Gasoline prices have never been higher this time of the year. At $3.53 a gallon, ...
Independent voices from the TWT Communities

First over-the-counter column approved for fast and effective relief from even your worst media-induced headache.

History doesn't have to be grim; there is a lot to be learned from the pages of time.

Political satirist and Christian apologist Bob Siegel discusses religion and politics.

A collection of Entertainment News and Reviews from Washington, D.C. to the beyond