According to researchers at the National Safety Counsel (NSC) there are approximately 1.6 million accidents every year related to use of mobile technology, with 1.4 million due to cell phones and 200,000 crashes caused by text messaging. The new data follows a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that showed that texting could increase the chances of having a traffic accident by a factor of 8.

As recognition for the dangers of texting while driving has been brought to light by studies like this, it was announced this week that any truck drivers or bus drivers caught using a cell phone or other electronic device to send a text message while driving could face a fine of up to $2,750.

A similar prohibition was also recently enacted for all drivers of federal vehicles, and Congress is currently reviewing legislation that would require all 50 states to put a texting ban in place or risk millions of dollars in federal funding. Last year, a law was enacted here prohibiting text messaging while driving in Maryland, and many states already have similar laws on the books.

According to the National Safety Council, there have been about 30 studies in recent years that showed a direct connection between cell phone use and auto accidents. Drivers who use a cell phone, even those using hands-free systems, are four times more likely to be involved in a crash, according to a 1997 study in the New England Journal of Medicine and a 2005 study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Unfortunately, laws and studies are never going stop all text messaging or distracted driving, but by bringing attention to the issue and enacting legislation, hopefully texting while driving will be recognized for the danger that it is. Similar efforts to bring awareness to the risks associated with driving without a seatbelt have proven effective, even if there are still some ignorant people who fail to buckle up.

A list of various research studies into cell phone use while driving can be found on the NSC’s website.

A new Maryland traffic law will go into effect tomorrow, banning text messaging while driving in an effort to reduce the number of Maryland accidents caused by distracted drivers.

The new law will make it illegal to type or send text messages while operating a motor vehicle. Being caught texting while driving in Maryland will be a misdemeanor, subject to a fine of up to $500. It will also be a primary driving offense, meaning that police will be able to pull people over and fine them if they suspect them of sending text messages.

Going into effect October 1, 2009, the new Maryland law allows sending messages to contact 911, and does not ban talking on the phone while driving. Playing games and using applications are not banned by the law either, and the law does not explicitly address e-mail, using twitter or updating Facebook, but their legality is up for interpretation and engaging in such activities likely carries the same distractions as text messaging.

The law is seen as a victory for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which seeks to have texting-while-driving bans in all 50 states by 2013. The law goes into effect just before AAA’s “Heads Up Driving Week.” from October 5 through October 11, which is designed to bring attention to driving behavior and encouraging distraction-free driving.

A recent study by Virginia Tech has found that truck accidents are 23 times more likely when a commercial driver is sending text messages while driving. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute looked at a number of different potential distractions for drivers of cars and trucks by adding cameras and instruments to the vehicles of drivers. Above any other distraction, text messaging truck drivers were putting themselves and others at the most risk.

The results were compiled from several driving studies conducted by the institute, and the collected data equaled about six million miles of driving. Heavy vehicle and truck drivers were 23.2 times more likely than a non-distracted driver to have a truck accident if they were texting, 6.7 times as likely to crash while reaching for, or using, an electronic device, and 5.9 times as likely to have an accident while dialing on a cell phone.

Drivers of light vehicles and cars were at much less risk of having a car accident, but still faced a 2.8 times greater risk of crashing while dialing a cell phone than a non-distracted driver and were 1.4 times more likely to crash while reaching for an object and 1.3 times as likely to have an auto accident while talking on the cell phone.

Researchers from the institute said that it was the tasks that drew the drivers’ eyes away from the road ahead of them that were the activities with the highest risk. Sending a text message took a driver’s eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds over a 6-second interval, which equates to driving the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the road. The study found that just talking on a cell phone, which does not distract a driver’s eyes from the road, made little difference in the likelihood of an accident.

Investigators are looking into a report that a cell phone text message was sent by the commuter train engineer minutes before the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining the cell phone records of the engineer and of a teenager who claims to have received the message. The engineer was killed in the accident and his phone was destroyed.

Earlier this year, the Maryland legislator rejected a bill that would have banned text messaging while driving in Maryland. The law was designed to reduce the risk of Maryland auto accidents caused by distracted drivers. Similar bans are in place in Washington State, New Jersey and Phoenix.

The Maryland legislation did not pass, as law makers indicated that text messaging does not involve a distraction of a unique nature and therefore does not necessitate a ban. In their opinion, the distractions caused by text messaging is similar to that caused while talking to people in the care, speaking on a cell phone or changing the radio.