Public Citizen: NHTSA unlawfully withholding safety records

Margaret Kwoka, an attorney for Public Citizen, said “the documents contain factual information about the risks of using a cell phone while driving, including the number of people who have died as a result of crashes caused by cell phone use. NHTSA should not be withholding these important safety facts from the public.”

By BARB KAMPBELL
The Trucker Staff

12/4/2008

WASHINGTON — The Public Citizen group claims in a federal lawsuit filed Dec. 1 that records showing the connection of driver cell phone use and traffic fatalities is being withheld from the public.

Public Citizen filed a federal lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Dec. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on behalf of the Center for Auto Safety, asking the court to order the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to release records, including a study that estimates traffic deaths attributable to cell phone use.

Margaret Kwoka, an attorney for Public Citizen, said “the documents contain factual information about the risks of using a cell phone while driving, including the number of people who have died as a result of crashes caused by cell phone use. NHTSA should not be withholding these important safety facts from the public.”

The Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit consumer organization, first requested the documents in March, but NHTSA claimed that research on driver distraction was exempt from disclosure under FOIA.

The Center for Auto Safety in a follow-up demand, received some information from NHTSA, but not all. NHTSA claimed that the remaining requested documents are “internal briefing documents,” not subject to release.

According to Public Citizen, in 2003 then-Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta drafted a letter based on the information NHTSA has, including the study, urging every governor to take action both against hand-held and hands-free cell phone use, but the letter never was sent and “the study buried,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

“Driving and talking is as deadly as drinking and driving,” Ditlow said. “Release of this study will destroy the myth that hands-free cell phones are safe.”

Several states and municipalities have banned cell-phone use while driving and the issue continues to come up in state legislatures.

Barb Kampbell of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at barkkampbell@thetrucker.com.