More Texting Bans, More Collision Claims?

Fueling skepticism about the efficacy of texting-while-driving (TWD) bans are the Highway Loss Data Institute's (HLDI) latest findings. The organization, which is an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), compared claims in four states both before and after the enactment of each TWD ban with the claim patterns in nearby states. The researchers determined there was actually a slight uptick in the frequency of insurance claims filed under collision coverage for damages.

This conclusion appears to be consistent with the findings of a previous HLDI study, which suggested that banning hand-held phone use while driving doesn't translate to fewer crashes.

“Texting bans haven't reduced crashes,” said Adrian Lund, president of both the HLDI and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “In a perverse twist, crashes increased in three of the four states we studied after bans were enacted. It's an indication that texting bans might even increase the risk of texting for drivers who continue to do so despite the laws.”

HLDI researchers calculated rates of collision claims for vehicles as old as 9 years during the months immediately before and after driver texting was banned in California (January 2009), Louisiana (July 2008), Minnesota (August 2008), and Washington (January 2008). Comparable data were collected in nearby states where texting laws weren't substantially changed during the time span of the study. This controlled for possible changes in collision claim rates unrelated to the bans–changes in the number of miles driven because of the economy, seasonal changes in driving patterns, and so on.

Lund said that these statistics call into question the way “policymakers are trying to address the problem of distracted driving crashes.”

“They're focusing on a single manifestation of distracted driving and banning it,” he added. “This ignores the endless sources of distraction and relies on banning one source or another to solve the whole problem.”

Of the study states, Minnesota noticed about a 9-percent jump in claims. HLDI observed that younger drivers–meaning those under 25 years of age–in California, Louisiana, and Washington were more likely to be involved in collisions, presumably due to a heavier reliance and penchant for texting, amongst other factors. The most significant increase of all (12-percent) following enactment of a texting ban was among young drivers in California.

“The point of texting bans is to reduce crashes, and by this essential measure the laws are ineffective,” Lund pointed out, cautioning that “finding no reduction in crashes, or even a small increase, doesn't mean it's safe to text and drive. There's a crash risk associated with doing this. It's just that bans aren't reducing this risk.”