Good morning. My name is Neel Scott and I am the campaign coordinator for Transportation Alternatives, NYC's advocates for bicyclists, pedestrians, and environmentally sensible transportation. Transportation Alternatives endorses proposed Int. 852 and Int. 855, which would prohibit the use of hands-held cellular phones while driving. Transportation Alternatives applauds Speaker Vallone and Mayor Giuliani for aggressively pursuing this progressive legislation. However, we urge City Council and the Mayor to make these laws truly effective by expanding them to include a ban on both hand-held and hand-free cell phones.

A 1997 New England Journal of Medicine study found that talking on hand-held and hand-free cell phones while driving quadruples the risk of a crash, and is equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol content of .10 (i.e. legally drunk). According to the Journal of Medical Decision Making, motorists using cellular telephones account for 1729 collisions, 317 injuries, $1 million in health care costs, and $4 million in property damage each day in the US. This is equivalent to 20 deaths and 3200 injuries annually due to cell phone motoring in NYC.

No one should be killed because a motorist feels that it is necessary to talk on the phone while driving. These bills are a good first step towards reducing the dangers from cell phone-impaired drivers.

However, these bills must be seen as only first steps. Expert studies clearly conclude that using a hand-free cell phone while driving is just as dangerous as using a hand-held phone. Researchers have found that the problem is the distraction of the conversation itself - not the act of dialing or holding a phone - that accounts for the increased risk.

These bills should go further, and ban the use of all cell phones - hand-held or hands-free - except for emergency use. Japan, Israel, Portugal, and Singapore have already banned the use of all cellular phones while driving on their roads. It's time for the City of New York to do the same.