Kwiksure and MSIG Comment on Recent Study on the Use of Mobile Phones While Driving
(PRWEB) August 27, 2013 -- A study that was recently published in the American Economic Journal claims that talking on a mobile phone while driving does not necessarily lead to a higher chance of getting into an accident. Despite the results, however, many groups in the auto-insurance community are still advising clients not to use their mobile phones while driving. When asked about the study, Paul Chong, Broker Manager at MSIG, stated, “...as our advice to vehicle drivers always, we would recommend them to always focus on driving safety by devoting full attention to operating the vehicle.”
This recent study was conducted by professors Vikram S. Pathania from the London School of Economics and Saurabh Bhargava from Carnegie Mellon University, and the two examined more than eight million car crashes in eight US states over a three year period.
Regarding the possible explanations for the surprising results, Bhargava stated, “One thought is that drivers may compensate for the distraction of mobile phone use by selectively deciding when to make a call or consciously driving more carefully during a call."
Bhargava also theorized that drivers are always somewhat distracted when they drive, and that using a mobile phone is merely taking the place of another distraction that the driver would have anyways.
Kwiksure has not yet changed their stance on the matter and still does not condone the use of mobile phones while driving, despite Bhargava's theories. KS Motor Manager Ken Chung states, “Compensating for unnecessary danger is not as safe as simply avoiding the unnecessary danger in the first place. Drivers should still try to distance themselves from any distractions as best as they can.”
It should be noted that Bhargava's and Pathania's study focused solely on the act of talking on the phone while driving, not sending or reading text messages or using other smart-phone functions.
Kwiksure experts are curious to see if the study will prompt any re-evaluations of current laws or beliefs regarding the use of mobile phones on the road. For the time-being, Kwiksure is still advising clients to refrain from using their mobile phones while operating their vehicles.
For more information, please visit http://www.kwiksure.com/news/mobile-phone-car-accident-study/.
Neil Raymond, Pacific Prime, 31131331, [email protected]
Share this article