In the latest issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention, UNC researchers Arthur Goodwin, Natalie O’Brien, and Robert Foss examined the long-term effect of restricting teenage cell phone use while driving.
In their study, “Effect of North Carolina‘s restriction on teenage driver cell phone use two years after implementation,” researchers concluded,
Overall, the findings suggest North Carolina’s cell phone restriction has had no long-term effect on the behavior of teenage drivers. Moreover, it appears many teenage drivers may be shifting from talking on a phone to texting.
Indeed, teenagers made fewer calls on their cell phone, but they were observed “physically manipulating a phone” while driving. That is a troubling finding.
