Recent accidents involving cell phone use are bringing unfavorable attention to cell phone use while driving. The driver of the car carrying supermodel Nikki Taylor was reaching for his ringing cell phone when he lost control of the car, hitting a utility pole, and putting Taylor in critical condition from a liver injury.

Cell phone use while driving is all part of a dangerous new trend known as distracted driving. According to recent research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about 25 percent of all traffic accidents are due to driver distraction which can include smoking, drinking, eating, and playing with the radio while driving, among other activities.

A 1997 study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that drivers using cell phones were four times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident. Realtors who use their cars as offices are particularly at risk, but they are also at risk from other distractions as more technologies go mobile. With today's technologies you can talk, send two-way e-mail messages, access the Internet, access MLS intranets, dial four-digit phone numbers and more, all while sitting comfortably in your mobile office - your car. But should you use those technologies while driving? Not while you are in motion, says most safety experts.

Yet, the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) says you're actually in more danger taking a sip from your Starbucks nonfat latte, than you are reaching for your cell phone while driving. As more state legislatures are looking at bills to outlaw handsets while driving, cellular phones are taking a disproportionate amount of heat for distraction-related accidents.

A new study by the AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety found that out of 26,000 traffic accidents, less than 2 percent of those caused by distracted driving involved wireless phone use.

According to the AAA, the top causes of traffic accidents analyzed are:

• Outside object, person, event: 19.7%
• Eating and drinking: 18.8%
• Adjusting radio, cassette, CD: 11.4%
• Other occupant in vehicle: 9.4%
• Moving object in vehicle: 3.2%
• Using/dialing cell phone: 1.5%
• Using other device in vehicle: 1.4%
• Adjusting climate controls: 1.2%
• Smoking related: 1.2%

The real message here is that while cell phones can contribute to driver distraction, so can other causes. But if you are one of those who is more distracted by a cell phone, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) in conjunction with the National Safety Council (NSC), wants to address you with a new public service announcement reminding drivers that using a phone in an automobile is always secondary to operating that vehicle safely.

Published: June 14, 2001

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.