News Coverage of Morgan's Crash

Unfortunately most of the articles that were written back in November 1999 have been deleted from the archives of the sites on which they originally appeared.

Cell Phones in the News and Media

Mobile driver 'ruined my life' 
A mobile phone chat to set up a dinner date cost one man his life and Susan Penney her future.

Advocates for Cell Phone Safety takes its campaign to Washington
In January 2002, Advocates for Cell Phone Safety merged with the Partnership for Safe Driving, a national organization headquartered in Washington, DC and dedicated to eliminating all forms of dangerous driving.

So after you visit my site, which is dedicated to the memory of my daughter, Morgan Lee, please follow this link to the home page of the Partnership for Safe Driving to learn more about our organization. While there, be sure to sign up for Crash Prevention News, a bi-monthly online news service for road safety activists and concerned citizens. Also, please consider making a financial contribution to the Partnership to help us keep our dream alive.

Thank you!

Consumer Reports looks at "The Distraction Factor" 2/02
Studies show that cell phones and driving don't mix.(New to Site: 3/24/2002)

Car, phone, brain: Not for simultaneous use
(New to Site: 3/24/2002)

The Seattle Times Nation & World Study finds hands-free cell phones not any safer
The Seattle Times article regarding hands-free cell phones (New to Site: 8/17/2001)

Cell Phones and Highway Safety
Cell Phones and Highway Safety: 2000 State Legislative Update ( New to Site: 6/15/2001)

The Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Hearing on Driver Distractions (click on Subcommittees, Highway & Transit, Hearings\Testimony, May 9, 2000, Driver Distractions - Electronic Devices in the Automobile
Electronic Devices in the Automobile (New to Site: 6/15/2001)

AAA study/ Data Unreliable says Author
Washington Post May 8, 2001(New to Site: 5/8/2001)

Public Attitude Monitor 2000
Over Two-Thirds of the Public Favors Laws to Ban Cellular Phone Use While Driving. ( New to Site: 6/15/2001)This Site could Take a Minute or so to open on your computer, Thank You

Food for thought:

We killed 120 kids and small statured women with airbags and there was a huge government, industry and societal response. We killed 150 people with Firestone tires, and the response was the same. Both airbags and tires are essential parts of the driving environment. Cell phones are not, so why do we tolerate this problem? (Fran Bents 12/15/00)

Cell Phone Horror Stories
MSNBC.com asked readers what their worst experiences were with mobile phone users. Here are your stories. (MSNBC.com: 3/23/2001)

First you dial, then you crash (Salon.com)
With cellphone use among drivers skyrocketing, can accidents be far behind? Great, detailed article. (12/7/2000)

"Federal Agency to Advise Drivers to Hang Up Phones" (Quote from WSJ article)
"NHTSA's consumer information will now include advice that growing evidence suggests using a wireless phone or other electronic device while driving can be distracting, and drivers should not talk on the phone or use other devices while their vehicles are in motion." (7/19/00 Wall Street Journal)

Cracking down on cell phones 11/3/00
When Patrolman Rich Hovan stops drivers here for chatting on their cell phones, he hands them more than tickets. He gives out pictures of 2-year-old Morgan Lee. (11/3/2000)

Communities put the brakes on cell phones
A movement to restrict using a cell phone while driving is gaining momentum across the country as city councils and state legislatures contemplate whether to regulate a habit that's becoming as common as tuning the car radio. With more than 103 million wireless phone users in the United States, the debate over the safety of using cell phones while driving has reached a fever pitch. Since March 1999, at least eight municipalities have enacted or are likely to pass restrictions on the use of such phones, experts say.(10/2000)

"Smartmoney.com Consumer Action Driven to Distraction"
Enjoying a day off from work, Terry Paulson biked his way through downtown Aspen with little on his mind. Then, everything changed. (10/2000)

Car Talk Declares War
Includes a tribute to Morgan including an open letter from Patti and pictures of our beautiful daughter. This site has an excellent collection of information, plus a bumper sticker you can get to speak out! An extremely comprehensive site for finding out what you can do on a national level. It features a map of the United States, in which you can just click on your state to find out where to write.

(You can listen to Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR's popular Car Talk radio show weigh in on the issue in RealAudio; hear their cell phone rant -- about 18 minutes in length.)

First you dial, then you crash (Salon.com)
With cellphone use among drivers skyrocketing, can accidents be far behind? Great, detailed article. (12/7/2000)

"Smartmoney.com Consumer Action Driven to Distraction"
Enjoying a day off from work, Terry Paulson biked his way through downtown Aspen with little on his mind. Then, everything changed. (10/2000)

Hit-run victim, 2, dies of his injuries: Meet Ryan Duffner
Ryan died in March 1999 when he and his family were hit by a van driven by a 16 year old girl talking on a cellular phone. This article describes the tragedy; also a follow-up article about the consequences the girl faced in September 1999.

CNN Newsstand: Are Cell Phones and Driving a Deadly Combination?
Transcript from May 31, 2000 show.

Widow calls for ban on cell phone calls while driving
The widow of a Wisconsin man killed when a teen-ager crashed her vehicle into his while making a phone call says she will ask legislators to ban the use of cellular phones while driving. (May 2000)

New Survey Shows Drivers Have Had 'Close Calls' With Cell Phone Users
According to a new survey by Farmers Insurance Group, 87 percent of adults believe that using a cell phone while driving impairs a person's ability to drive. And while only two percent of drivers said they had been in an accident in which one of the drivers was using a cell phone, more than 40 percent reported to have had close calls or near misses with a driver who was on the phone.

Family Circle Magazine
A complete story about Morgan's tragedy appeared in the April 18, 2000 issue of Family Circle. Full text reprinted here, with permission.

Oprah
Patti and Rob appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show recently to tell the story of what happened to Morgan and caution the world that driving and talking do not mix.

Phoning and Driving Don't Mix (New York Times)
By now, he is as familiar a figure on the city landscape as the souvlaki vendor. He is the fellow you see behind the wheel, trying to negotiate traffic while talking on a cellular phone. You know him well. He veers erratically from lane to lane and brushes back pedestrians as he turns into a crosswalk, jabbering nonstop, one hand on the wheel and half a brain on what he is doing. The sinking feeling in your stomach tells you it is only a matter of time before the self-absorbed clod does serious harm.

Legislative News

Emotional Pleas to Ban Phoning While Driving Cellular use in autos called deadly at state hearing
Oakland, CA: Mardy Burns was among several speakers at a hearing organized by Assemblywoman Audie Bock, independent-Piedmont, who called for a state ban on the use of cellular phones while driving, saying that chatting motorists have caused countless injuries and deaths. (9/2000)

Legislators Debate Car-Phone Use
During a panel discussion at the National Conference of State Legislatures Annual Meeting on Monday, legislators, citizens (including Patti) and representatives of the cellular and automotive industries seemed to agree that cellular phone use while driving can be dangerous. (July, 2000)

Senate Seeks Cell Phone Crash Data
Not available online, the 3/20/00 Philadelphia Inquirer reported that all 50 Pennsylvania state senators called for requiring police to determine if phones played a role in car accidents. Governor Ridge has been asked by these senators to include a check-off box on accident report forms for police to indicate if a cellular phone was a factor in the crash. This may help to close the "data gap" which has been a major road block to legislative efforts to ban driving with phone in hand. (3/00)

Cell Phones and Driving: 1999 State Legislative Update
At least 22 states since 1995 have proposed bills concerning cellular telephones in automobiles. In 1999 alone, 15 states proposed measures to restrict cellular telephones in motor vehicles (see table 1). Legislation varied in severity from proposals that would ban all use in vehicles, to requirements for hands-free devices, phone call length restrictions, requirements to keep one ear free, solicitation restrictions and improved data collection. Although none of the bills have passed yet, legislation is still pending in Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Another measure was held for further study in Rhode Island.

Legislative Status

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Drive-Now/legislative-status.html

Research Studies

NEW: Large list of scientific studies borrowed from Car Talk website

Journal of Neuroscience in November 2004  download the PDF file
Control of Attention Shifts between Vision and Audition in Human Cortex

New England Journal of Medicine
This study shows the risk of a collision when using a cellular telephone is four times higher than the risk when a cellular telephone was not being used; and units that allow the hands to be free offer no safety advantage over hand-held units. (1997)

An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles
From the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration: "Though very popular, the hand held units are typically difficult to operate with one hand, can be easily dropped, and may require more "positioning" by the driver, since they are more likely to experience transmission difficulties due to lower power and an integrated antenna (within the vehicle). The resulting manual and cognitive "distractions," it has been suggested, may have an even greater adverse influence on driving behavior and performance than "mobile phone" systems (i.e., permanently installed units), under certain conditions. It appears that this is the basis for the focus on hand held cellular telephones by some legislative efforts. "

Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program : Investigation of the use of Mobile Phones while Driving
This is a downloadable file with extensive research on mobile phone use in the U.S.

The Effect of Cellular Phone Use Upon Driver Attention (National Public Services Research Institute)
While cellular phones are really elements of communication rather than transportation, their potential impact upon the latter is sizable. The prospect of twenty million drivers having the opportunity to place, receive, or handle a telephone call while driving is not something easily ignored.

Other Valuable Resources

Patti would like to point students doing research papers to the book "It's no accident" by Lisa Lewis.  They can purchase it and download it for $14.00. Chapter 4 covers all the research and analysis regarding cell phone use while driving.

 

 

Car Talk Declares War
Includes a tribute to Morgan including an open letter from Patti and pictures of our beautiful daughter. This site has an excellent collection of information, plus a bumper sticker you can get to speak out! An extremely comprehensive site for finding out what you can do on a national level. It features a map of the United States, in which you can just click on your state to find out where to write.

(You can listen to Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR's popular Car Talk radio show weigh in on the issue in RealAudio; hear their cell phone rant.)

Why get involved? Your life depends on it! Why common sense isn't enough -- click here!