Cell Phones and Traffic Injuries

Many years ago, during the late 1990s, Michael asked me if there were any data linking the use of cells phones to accidents caused by distracted drivers. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors was considering a regulation to ban the use of car and cell phones while driving. I did a PubMed search and came up with an article from the New England Journal of Medicine. It showed a four-fold increase in risk. The evidence got passed on, but nothing happened.

Meanwhile, this evidence has been replicated many times. A recent paper in the British Medical Journal shows the same thing.

Is this an issue in California?