Dr. Kenneth Beck sheds light on Maryland's new cell phone law

Occasionally referred to as “the new drunk driving,” distracted driving contributes to thousands of fatalities each year and consistently ranks near the top of drivers’ lists of safety concerns.

But a new Maryland law that took effect at the start of the month is taking strides to curb driver distractions by making the use of hand-held cell phones while driving a primary traffic offense that can result in an $83 fine for first-time offenders.

Professor Ken Beck

Dr. Kenneth Beck, a professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, said the success of the new law will depend on how strictly it is enforced and how much media promotion, or enhancement, it receives.

Dr. Beck specializes in threat perception and risk taking, and his research has focused on traffic safety and impaired driving. In 2007, the Journal of Safety Research published a study by Dr. Beck that found that drivers who use cell phones are more likely to engage in a variety of other risky behaviors.

The number of drivers using cell phones has increased since then, Dr. Beck said, as the devices have become more available and their use more widespread.

“We know that drivers who are distracted in general … tend to have a higher crash risk,” Dr. Beck said. “Anything that divides your attention is potentially more risky in driving.”

The passage of the new cell phone law is a good step in the right direction, but it’s just one step of what needs to be many.

“No one really changes anyone’s behavior [just] by passing a law,” Dr. Beck said. “You have to enforce the law, and then you have to promote that enforcement.”

The idea is called “deterrence theory,” and it suggests that people are less likely to engage in an activity if they believe there is a reasonable risk they will be caught and sanctioned for doing so.

Creating that belief requires strict enforcement of the sanctioning, something that skeptics have questioned the likelihood of with regards to the new cell phone law.

But on the day the new law went into effect, State Police issued 122 citations and 84 warnings for its violation, according to an article in The Baltimore Sun.

Dr. Beck said that future technological advancements could also help with the law's enforcement in the same way that cameras can now catch drivers who run red lights or speed.

Education and promotion of the law and how it is being enforced is the next step.