Your editorial “Cell phone legislation completely unnecessary” (SN 3/26) addresses the hazards of cell phone use while driving.

As the sponsor of the Response Insurance National Driving Habits Survey, a scientifically valid survey of drivers from around the nation that covered this topic, we would like to weigh in on this issue.

Although our survey revealed American drivers being distracted by many activities, the results clearly point to the inherent dangers of cell phone usage while driving. Our survey found that it is the distraction, rather than the specific activity, that is the problem.

Drivers are increasingly engaging in activities that take their hands, and more importantly their focus of attention, off the road.

Twenty-nine percent of those polled indicated they routinely phone and drive and 13 percent of those polled reported it has either caused or nearly caused them to get into an accident. Cell phone use is not necessarily more a distraction than many other activities, but that does not mean that cell phone use while driving is safe.

Mory Katz
chairman of Response Insurance