Transportation Alternatives, a NYC traffic safety and pedestrian and bicycle advocacy group endorsed City Council legislation prohibiting the use of handheld telephones while driving.

However, the group called on the Mayor and City Council to make this bill only a first step. Expert studies clearly conclude that using a hand-free cell phone while driving is just as dangerous as using a hand-held phone. Researchers have found that the problem is the distraction of the conversation itself - not the act of dialing or holding a phone.

• A 1997 New England Journal of Medicine study found that talking on any type of cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of an accident, and is equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol content of .10 (i.e. legally drunk).
• According to the Journal of Medical Decision Making, each day cellular telephone calls while driving account for 1729 collisions, 317 injuries, $1 million in health care costs, and $4 million in property damage.
• Every year, it's projected that motorists using cellular phones kill 20 and injure 3200 in NYC.

According to campaign coordinator Neel Scott,

"No one should be killed because a driver wants to talk on the phone. Drivers should not be using mobile phones - hand-held or hands-free. Phoning while driving is inherently dangerous, just like drinking."