Via daughter Kim:
Laws that forbid motorists from using hand-held phones or texting while driving don't appear to result in a significant decrease in vehicle crashes, according to a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute expected to be released Friday.
The study, expected to be released at a conference in Washington, D.C., Friday, comes amid stepped-up efforts by federal highway-safety regulators to ban texting while driving and curb other forms of driver distraction. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood earlier this week announced rules to forbid commercial truck and bus drivers from text messaging while driving. Mr. LaHood has said he would ban all texting while driving if he could.
...
The HLDI, a research organization sponsored by the insurance industry, studied data on monthly collision claims in four states that banned the use of hand-held phones by motorists before and after the bans went into effect. The HLDI also compared collision data from states that enacted bans on driving while texting or phoning to accident claims in states that didn't enact such bans.
I find the Department of Transportation response "interesting":
The Transportation Department in a statement Friday criticized the HLDI findings, saying "it is irresponsible to suggest that laws banning cell phone use while driving have zero effect on the number of crashes on our nation's roadways."
Typical of the nanny state mentality -- in their minds the use of actual facts and data is "irresponsible".