Saturday, May 18, 2013

Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Possible cell phone ban while driving
Posted: 12.14.2011 at 10:16 PM
0

The National Transportation Safety Board has made a recommendation to ban drivers from using cell phones

MARQUETTE -- The National Transportation Safety Board has made a recommendation to ban drivers from using cell phones.

For the past ten years, the NTSB has tried to limit the use of all cell phones in vehicles, and this one is the most extreme. NTSB members are trying to combat "distractive driving," an issue that causes accidents every day.

"With cell phones and texting and the driving is a complete distraction to the safety of motorists on a road. It obviously puts the driver in danger, as well as the people around in danger, whether they're motorists or pedestrians," said Marquette Police Lieutenant, Mike Laurila.

Just last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a study showing that almost 14 million people regularly use hand-held phones while driving.

"If you're looking down at your cell phone, you can easily just veer off, and I think some accidents are caused by it, and that's why I don't do it," said NMU student Jamie Brown.

It is sometimes difficult for police to determine whether an accident was caused by driver distraction because they're not permitted to search the driver's phone without a warrant.

"I'm from downstate, so using my cell phone and GPS help me get around. I'm still learning the ropes of where things are, what interstate to jump on, so I think cell phones and GPS are pretty useful," said NMU student, Meg Rice.

This past year, there were 552 accidents in Marquette, but city police were unsure as to how many were cell phone related.

Popular Stories
Thumbnail
Human Trafficking: It's here in the U.P.
Kelsey Niemisto  |  Today at 10:25 AM  |  12 comments
Thumbnail
St. Vinny's embezzler sentenced
Dustin Bonk  |  Today at 10:30 AM  |  7 comments
Thumbnail
Woman who crashed car into train pleads guilty
Yesterday at 7:05 PM  |  4 comments
Follow Upper Michigan's Source
Get news and weather notifications on your phone by downloading the iPhone or Android app below
Sign up to get alerts and updates for breaking news, severe weather, and deals:
submit
ADVERTISEMENT
Check This Out!
Best Bets
See what the experts have to say.
Automotive
Check out the Automotive section of Best Bets.
Your Health Matters
Health news and information.
Recreation
Check out the Recreation section of Best Bets.
ADVERTISEMENT