|
In August a study by the University of Utah in the US maintained that using a mobile phone while driving can lead to significant decreases in driving performance, and in Ireland the government is carrying out its own investigation on what road safety issues are involved.
But the latest research, this time produced by a subsidiary of General Motors, claims that drivers using GM's embedded phone system had fewer accidents.
GM's OnStar system was introduced in its US models five years ago and is now available in more than 1.5 million vehicles. The phone system is integrated into the vehicle and uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and cellular technology to link vehicle and driver to a special OnStar Centre.
A new study conducted as part of GM's "SenseAble Driving" programme found that the cellular phone used in GM's OnStar system has had an "outstanding" safety performance record.
The study analysed data about whether a crash occurred at the same time a cell phone was in use. Time stamps on the data show exactly when a cell phone voice call was initiated and when the OnStar advisor was in contact with a vehicle after an airbag was deployed.
The study concluded that an airbag release crash associated with the use of OnStar's embedded phone system was "rare," and that the chance that such a call actually caused a crash was even rarer.
According to the findings, more than 8 million calls were placed to an OnStar Call Centre advisor between 1996 and May 2000. Of these calls, just two were made by drivers known to have been on the phone at the time of a crash, GM said.
Conflicting results were revealed in a University of Utah study in August, which found that drivers using a mobile phone had significantly slower responses to traffic signals and sometimes missed signals completely.
Meanwhile, Irish Environment Minister Noel Dempsey is to establish a committee to study the issue. It is not illegal to use a mobile phone while driving on Irish roads.
He said that recent road accident statistics led him to believe that mobile phone use could be a significant factor.
|
