Cell Phone-Related Crashes on the Rise, National Safety Council Says | Edmunds.com

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ITASCA, Illinois — As motorists prepare for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, they should be aware that cell phone-related crashes have increased for the third consecutive year and now account for 27 percent of all crashes, according to the National Safety Council.

The estimate includes crashes involving drivers who are texting or talking on cell phones.

"The incredible connectivity enabled by technology has resulted in a very dangerous environment behind the wheel," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, in a statement Monday.

Texting increases a driver's crash risk by at least eight times, while drivers talking on cell phones are four times as likely to crash regardless of whether they're using a handheld or hands-free phone.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is trying to put the brakes on texting and cell phone use behind the wheel, saying that distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America's roadways. In 2013, 3,154 were killed in distracted-driving crashes.

Safety advocates are also calling attention to motor-vehicle safety as the summer driving season begins.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday launched its 2015 "Click It or Ticket" campaign in advance of the holiday weekend. This campaign urges motorists to use seatbelts.

In 2013, seatbelts saved an estimated 12,584 lives among passenger vehicle occupants 5 years old and up, according to the most recent NHTSA data. Historically, seatbelts saved an estimated 62,468 lives from 2009-'13.

Edmunds says: Put the phone down, buckle up and drive safely this holiday weekend. In fact, why not do that every day of the year?

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World Motor Sport Council must approve F1 Strategy Group's proposed changes

Faster cars, refueling stops, fatter tires all on the table for discussion

Time will tell how much last Thursday's meeting of the Strategy Group will actually change the direction of Formula One.

The group -- featuring the top teams, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA -- met in England amid ever-loudening voices calling for urgent measures to turn around the series in the face of flagging audiences, disinterested sponsors, and struggling teams and promoters.

Afterwards, the FIA announced that teams will be able to choose their own tire compounds beginning next year, but Pirelli immediately voiced its doubts and concerns.

Also getting the green light was faster and louder cars for 2017, with a 6 second-per-lap boost to be achieved through aerodynamics, higher revs, fatter tires and lighter cars due in part to the return of in-race refueling.

"It was a good meeting," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "We want to build the fastest cars in the world, and now we will. That was the best moment: when everyone raised their hands to vote for building the fastest cars of all time."

However, before any of the changes can be set in stone, they will have to pass through the World Motor Sport Council, which will not meet until mid-July in Mexico.

Wolff acknowledged that reintroducing refueling, for example, is in fact still being looked at.

"Refueling was banned because of cost and because the pitstops were taking too long," he told the BBC. "But we want to re-explore it and see if we can make pitstops for fuel and tires happen in the same time it takes to change the tires now. (But) if it's too expensive, we won't do it."

The fact that the notoriously divided teams are still in the discussion phase is causing some to wonder if the changes will really ever see the light of day.

"Basically, nothing was decided, but this is not surprising," F1 legend Gerhard Berger told Germany's motorsport-magazin.com.

"Everything will remain as it is," Berger predicted.

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