Cell phone use and two-way communication systems in automobilesare facing scrutiny again, this time from the Center for AutoSafety (CAS).

In a letter directed to the National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA), CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlowpetitioned for new laws to restrict the availability of two-waycommunication, including cell phones and services like GeneralMotor's OnStar and Volvo's On Call. According to the letter,automakers have begun enhancing services like OnStar by offeringadditional features that allow drivers to gain access to e-mail,movie listings, and customized news reports, a trend CAS views asdangerous because it adds to the already long list of driverdistractions. Ditlow said that the potential distractions aresimilar to permitting television monitors in the front seats ofpassenger vehicles, a practice that is not permitted by most statelaws. He also said that the accident experience of drivers usingcell phones has been shown to be similar to that of drunk drivers,noting statistics that show both behaviors increase the risk of avehicle crash by four times.

The CAS proposed language for the law, which says, “Any vehicleintegrated personal communication systems including cellular phonesand text messaging systems shall be inoperative when thetransmission shift lever is in a forward or reverse driveposition.” In addition, CAS petitioned NHTSA to consider subjectingother vehicle integrated telematic systems such as OnStar into theproposed amendment.

“Research consistently has shown that operating a motor vehiclewhile talking on a cell phone — whether hand-held or hands-free —increases the risk of an accident to three to four times theexperience of attentive drivers,” said Ditlow, in the letter toNHTSA. “The two-way conversation on a cellular phone, not the taskof holding the phone, causes a cognitive distraction. Thisdistraction induces inattention blindness, which inhibits drivers'abilities to detect change in road conditions.”