{"id":109121,"date":"2025-11-01T04:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T04:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/109121\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T04:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T04:34:12","slug":"no-holding-law-in-arizona-curbs-calls-but-not-texts-and-other-uses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/109121\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No Holding\u2019 Law In Arizona Curbs Calls, But Not Texts And Other Uses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Focusing on something other than driving increases crash risk.<\/p>\n

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety<\/p>\n

The impact of Arizona\u2019s law making it illegal to hold a cellphone while driving is mixed. Handheld conversations decreased by about 26% after the ban went into effect, but drivers didn\u2019t stop other manual cellphone behaviors, like scrolling, swiping, or typing. <\/p>\n

Those are the main findings of a new study<\/a> released on Thursday from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety<\/a>, a nonprofit financed by the insurance industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that drivers continued to type and scroll in the wake of a law that made it illegal even to hold the device shows how hard it\u2019s going to be to stop this behavior,\u201d Ian Reagan, senior research scientist at the Insurance Institute and lead author of the study, said in a statement. \u201cSustained, high-visibility enforcement efforts are likely needed to make drivers take the new law seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n

For the study, \u201cEvaluation of Arizona\u2019s statewide handheld cellphone ban using roadside observation and telematics data<\/a>,\u201d researchers analyzed roadside observation data and telematics data compiled anonymously from insurance companies\u2019 safe-driving apps from before and after the law went into effect. <\/p>\n

Focusing on something other than driving increases crash risk, and the more demanding the secondary task and the longer the driver\u2019s eyes are away from the road, the greater the danger becomes, researchers said. <\/p>\n

In 2023, distracted driving<\/a> claimed some 3,275 lives, and \u201ctexting is the most alarming distraction,\u201d according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Sending or reading a text when behind the wheels takes the driver\u2019s eyes off the road for about 5 seconds, the federal agency noted, adding that \u201cat 55 mph, that\u2019s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.<\/p>\n

The roadside observers recorded the percentage of drivers they saw holding a phone, manipulating a phone or holding a phone to their ear at specific locations. The telematics data recorded all cases when drivers were making handheld calls and manipulating their phones. <\/p>\n

Both the roadside observations and telematics data showed declines in handheld calls, but the telematics data showed larger reductions. Small declines of other cellphone actions were indicated during roadside observations, however, telematics data showed slight increases.<\/p>\n

Several factors may have influenced the outcomes of the analysis, researchers said. The Arizona ban was enacted in 2019 and went into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, when police enforcement fell nationwide. In addition, some pre-existing local ordinances may have influenced results. For example, roadside observation data indicated reductions in handheld calls in two jurisdictions that did not have prior handheld calling bans, but in another jurisdiction that already had handheld calling and texting bans before the state law, there were no reductions. <\/p>\n

To address the issue, researchers recommend improving both public awareness campaigns and enforcement initiatives similar to the \u201cClick It or Ticket\u201d program that was influential in improving seat belt use.<\/p>\n

The results of the study \u201care a bit of a reality check,\u201d David Harkey, the Insurance Institute\u2019s president, said in a statement. \u201cEfforts to reduce speeding, impaired driving and other kinds of risky behaviors show that laws are more effective when drivers know there\u2019s a strong possibility that they\u2019ll be penalized,\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018No holding\u2019 laws are a positive step,\u201d he added, \u201cbut it will take more than better worded legislation alone to combat cellphone distraction.\u201d <\/p>\n

For more information and to read the full report, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Focusing on something other than driving increases crash risk. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety The impact of Arizona\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[71089,23524,114,50894,71093,71094,25881,71090,85,71092,46,71095,71091],"class_list":["post-109121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-no-holding-law","tag-arizona","tag-business","tag-cellphone","tag-crash-risk","tag-distracted-driving","tag-enforcement","tag-handheld-conversations","tag-il","tag-insurance-institute-for-highway-safety","tag-israel","tag-speeding","tag-texting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}