From CNN:

A new study suggests laws banning the use of hand-held devices while driving have not reduced the rate of accidents in three states and the District of Columbia.

In addition to the nation’s capital, the report by the Highway Loss Data Institute reviews insurance claims in New York, Connecticut and California. It also compares the data to other areas that do not have cell phone bans.

“The laws aren’t reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk,” said Adrian Lund, president of the Highway Loss Data Institute.

There were no fluctuations in collision rates before and after the laws were put in place, the report said.

“So the new findings don’t match what we already know about the risk of phoning and texting while driving,” Lund added.

According to the study, the crash rates in the nation’s capital were the same as in Virginia and Maryland, which don’t have laws limiting the use of cell phones while driving.

Texting while driving is a crummy idea, but what is even worse is the constitutional issues this raises with policemen being able to pull someone over, simply for looking down in a car. In practice, the implementation of these bans become ridiculous.

The Ohio legislature is debating a number of laws involving texting while driving and “sexting.” However, they are yet to concern themselves with those dedicated multi-taskers who take nude pictures of themselves while driving at high speeds.

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