US withheld reports on the risks of driving while using mobile devices

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The New York Times today published a previously unreleased body of research conducted by the Department of Transportation in 2003 on the safety effects of using cellphones and other wireless communications devices while driving.

The New York Times obtained the research from the Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen, two consumer advocacy groups that earlier this year acquired more than 250 pages of undisclosed material through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Here is the takeaway: talking on a mobile, or worse yet, inputting text or fiddling around with an app — all are forms of distraction while driving. The less distracted you are while driving, the safer you and everyone else on the road with you will be. Duh.

Documents: Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Related article: DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION: U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving (Matt Richtel, NYT)

Previously on Boing Boing:
Radley Balko on NY Times photo: " I can't really conceive of a scenario where it wasn't staged."