States are being encouraged by highway officials to report when crashes are caused by distracted drivers.
The Governors Highway Safety Association is issuing a new report called the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria that police officers will be able to use when writing reports for car accidents that were caused by distracted drivers.
"All drivers should not use cell phones when driving," GHSA spokesperson Jonathan Adkins said.
The report is a model for police departments to use so crash data can be standardized and evaluated evenly. This information will allow departments to judge the impact distractions have on accidents.
Michigan has already taken steps to collect crash data around the state. Their forms evaluate fatigue, sleeping, medication, sickness, distractions and cell phone usage, Adkins said.
The distracting elements considered in the report are cell phones, pagers, navigation systems, Palm Pilots, radio, other passengers, road signs and other vehicles.
Anne Readett, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, said of the nearly 400,000 crashes in Michigan last year, about 9,000 of them fell under one of these categories. Cell phone usage was mentioned in 870 of the reports.
Although Readett says this is a relatively small number, this might be a problem that doesn't get properly evaluated.
"They aren't big numbers, but they could be," she said. "It's a very hard thing to gauge. It's not readily apparent and not information (that is) always volunteered to the officer."
New York is the only state to put a ban on hand-held cell phone usage while driving.
MSU Police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said she thinks cell phone usage while operating a vehicle should be limited.
"If they are going to use a cell phone, they should use a mounted phone or a hands-free phone," she said. "Otherwise, pull over or try to make the call at a traffic light."
Adkins said the New York legislation was not good enough because hand-free phones are just as distracting.
"A really intense conversation pulls you away from the road," he said. "We don't want drivers to engage in any distracting behavior. They should be concentrating on the road and nothing else."
