Federal transport agency withheld information on hand free cell phone risks

New documents obtained under a freedom of information ACT request, show that a federal agency withheld research for six years on the dangers of driving while using a cell phone. Consumer advocacy groups Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety have been fighting to get the documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released. The groups say the agency could have saved lives by releasing the research,  which showed using a handsfree cell phone device could be just as dangerous as using a handheld phone:

“Frankly, I´m shocked, I mean this is the equivalent of the Center for Disease Control hiding research on some new medical disease.”

Clarence Ditlow is the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

“The issue is not that your hands are not on the wheel when you´re using a handsfree cellphone, it´s that your mind is not on the road, you´re distracted by the very conversation that you´re conducting and so hands free are just as hazardous, cause it´s the conversation not the act of holding the phone that causes the hazard.”

Ditlow says they're not getting a clear answer on why the research was kept secret. The Center for Auto Safety says they're petitioning the NHTSA today to restrict the use of in-vehicle phone systems while someone is driving and wants the agency to support state programs that limit both hand-held and handsfree phone use by drivers.