The State - News from May 4, 1987

Distractions caused by cellular car phones generally do not increase the risk of traffic accidents, while the instruments actually add to highway safety in emergency situations, the California Highway Patrol said. In a recent report, the CHP said mobile phones with memory and voice-activated dialing present less of a hazard than tuning a car radio, while researchers also found that the risk of injury from phones striking passengers in the event of an accident is “relatively insignificant.” The report also noted that the number of mobile 911 emergency calls received by the CHP increased by more than 700% during the 18 months from January, 1985, through June, 1986.