Drivers' use of handheld cell phones before and after New York State's cell phone law

BACKGROUND: In response to public concern about driver distraction from cellular telephones, New York became the first state to ban handheld cell phone use while driving. The law, accompanied by considerable publicity, included a warning phase (November 2001), after which violators could be fined. Until March 2002, fines could be waived if motorists provided proof of purchase of hands-free accessories. METHODS: Daytime cell phone use among passenger vehicle drivers was observed at controlled intersections 1 month before the law's implementation, after fines could be issued (December 2001), and after waivers were not allowed (March 2002). Use was observed for 37,462 vehicles in four New York communities and 21,315 vehicles in two central Connecticut communities. Driver gender, estimated age, and vehicle type were recorded for cell phone users and a sample of passing motorists. RESULTS: The use rate in New York declined significantly from 2.3% before the law to 1.1% after the law (P < 0.05). Use rates in Connecticut, an adjacent state without a law, did not change. In both states, use was higher among drivers of sport utility vehicles (P < 0.05) and minimal among drivers ages 60 or older. In New York, observed use declined among drivers younger than 60, male and female drivers, and all vehicle types. CONCLUSIONS: A well-publicized law restricting drivers' use of handheld cell phones had a strong effect on behavior. Whether compliance will remain high is unknown.     

Agreement between two observers in the measurement of smoking and use of safety belt and cell phones in vehicles

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of direct observations of smoking and use of seat belts and cell phones in drivers in the city of Barcelona, and to analyze the agreement between two observers. We performed 315 pairs of observations. The simple percentage inter-observer agreement between driver and passenger smoking was 100% with a Kappa coefficient=1.0. There was high inter-observer agreement in measurement of cell phone use and the number of passengers aged less than 14 years old. The variable with the lowest agreement was the driver's age. In conclusion, direct observation studies are a good resource for monitoring smoking and use of seat belts and cell phones in the drivers of motor vehicles.     

In vitro and in vivo study of electromagnetic compatibility of cellular phones and pacemakers]

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of cellular phones and pacemakers (PM) was examined in four different cellular phone system (NMT, GSM, RLL, DCS 1800 MHz) and in fifteen different PM type in-vitro and in-vivo in humans. After more than 1100 in-vitro and 130 in-vivo tests we concluded, that the electromagnetic immunity of the PMs which are implanted in Hungary is suitable with only few exceptions. The highest rate of EMC problems was observed with NMT 450 MHz cellular phones (10.5%-63%). There was no EMC disturbance observed with GSM and DCS 1800 MHz cellular phones. There was only one case when clinically significant symptom was noticed with only one PM type and with NMT system cellular phone when the distance of cellular phone was 3-4 cms, and the power was maximal. There was not any EMC disturbance observed with none of the cellular phone systems during normal talking and when the distance of the PM and cellular phone was more than 20 cms. Our study supports guidelines which suggest that PM patients should contact their physicians when using cellular phones and cellular phones and PMs should not get closer than 20 cms.     

Motor vehicle accidents (1973-6) in a cohort of Montreal drivers.

In 1973-4 nearly 10 000 Montreal drivers, interviewed by telephone, provided information about medical and associated factors and about driving habits, in particular annual mileage. Records of accidents suffered by these drivers in the Province of Quebec over 39 months (1973-6) were also collected. The 7634 current drivers, with appropriate permits, and all of whose data passed reliability edits, were placed into nine sets-that is, three classes: women; men with the usual permit; and men with a chauffeur's permit to drive taxis, heavy vehicles, etc; further subdivided into three age groups. Accident rates depended on mileage, but after allowance for differences in mileage, accident rates still varied with sex, type of permit, and age. No association of the risk of accidents and a medical or related factor was consistent over all nine sets of drivers. Of the 7634 drivers, 347 had had at least one accident causing injury or death in the 39 months from 1 January 1973. These "cases" were compared with 347 "referents," closely matched for sex, type of permit, age, and reported mileage, but without accident causing injury or death. Cases included higher proportion who worked irregular shifts, who were overweight, and who reported smoking while driving. Relative to the chance of a referent suffering any accident in the 39-month period, a case had at least double the risk of having an accident in addition to the index accident.     

Mobile phones and driving

Prior to the introduction of legislation in the United Kingdom, observational road-side studies showed that approximately 2 per cent of drivers use a mobile phone while driving. We studied the change in the usage rate of hand-held mobile phones from 10 weeks before to 10 weeks after the legislation came into force in December 2003. Across three different sites during the evening rush-hour, the usage rate changed from 1.85 to 0.97 per cent, a reduction of almost half. This change is attributed to the legislation. The effect of the legislation on accident and injury rates is unknown.     

Assessment of radiofrequency exposure from cellular telephone daily use in an epidemiological study: German Validation study of the international case-control study of cancers of the brain--INTERPHONE-Study

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to validate self-reported cellular phone use information by comparing it with the cumulative emitted power and duration of calls measured by software-modified cellular phones (SMP). The information was obtained using a questionnaire developed for the international case-control study on the risk of the use of mobile phones in tumours of the brain or salivary gland (INTERPHONE-study). METHOD: The study was conducted in Bielefeld, Germany. Volunteers were asked to use SMPs instead of their own cellular phones for a period of 1 month. The SMP recorded the power emitted by the mobile phone handset during each base station contact. Information on cellular phone use for the same time period from traffic records of the network providers and from face-to-face interviews with the participants 3 months after the SMP use was assessed. Pearson's correlation coefficients and linear regression models were used to analyse the association between information from the interview and from the SMP. RESULTS: In total, 1757 personal mobile phone calls were recorded for 45 persons by SMP and traffic records. The correlation between the self-reported information about the number and the duration of calls with the cumulative power of calls was 0.50 (P<0.01) and 0.48 (P<0.01), respectively. Almost 23% of the variance of the cumulative power was explained by either the number or the cumulative duration of calls. After inclusion of possible confounding factors in the regression model, the variance increased to 26%. Minor confounding factors were "network provider", "contract form", and "cellular phone model". DISCUSSION: The number of calls alone is a sufficient parameter to estimate the cumulative power emitted by the handset of a cellular telephone. The cumulative power emitted by these phones is only associated with number of calls but not with possible confounding factors. Using the mobile phone while driving, mainly in cities, or mainly in rural areas is not associated with the recorded cumulative power in the SMP.     

Digital Divide: Variation in Internet and Cellular Phone Use among Women Attending an Urban Sexually Transmitted Infections Clinic

We sought to describe: (1) the prevalence of internet, cellular phone, and text message use among women attending an urban sexually transmitted infections (STI) clinic, (2) the acceptability of health advice by each mode of information and communication technology (ICT), and (3) demographic characteristics associated with ICT use. This study is a cross-sectional survey of 200 English-speaking women presenting to a Baltimore City STI clinic with STI complaints. Participants completed a self-administered survey querying ICT use and demographic characteristics. Three separate questions asked about interest in receiving health advice delivered by the three modalities: internet, cellular phone, and text message. We performed logistic regression to examine how demographic factors (age, race, and education) are associated with likelihood of using each modality. The median age of respondents was 27 years; 87% were African American, and 71% had a high school diploma. The rate of any internet use was 80%; 31% reported daily use; 16% reported weekly use; and 32% reported less frequent use. Almost all respondents (93%) reported cellular phone use, and 79% used text messaging. Acceptability of health advice by each of the three modalities was about 60%. In multivariate analysis, higher education and younger age were associated with internet use, text messaging, and cellular phone use. Overall rate of internet use was high, but there was an educational disparity in internet use. Cellular phone use was almost universal in this sample. All three modalities were equally acceptable forms of health communication. Describing baseline ICT access and the acceptability of health advice via ICT, as we have done, is one step toward determining the feasibility of ICT-delivered health interventions in urban populations.     

The cost‐effectiveness of a law banning the use of cellular phones by drivers

Objective: To assess the cost‐effectiveness of a law banning the use of cellular phones by drivers in the Canadian province of Alberta. Method: Cost‐effectiveness analysis using a probabilistic decision‐analytic model and publicly available data. We adopted a societal perspective. Health gains were measured in terms of quality‐adjusted life‐years. Costs include those associated with awareness raising, enforcement and the welfare loss associated with the reduction in cellular phone use, less savings in health care and other costs associated with automobile accidents. Results: A ban promotes health and releases resources worth more than the costs. There is an 80% chance that a ban will be ‘cost saving’, and a 94% chance that a ban will cost less than Can$50 000/QALY. The results are sensitive to the additional risk posed by cellular phone use while driving, and the rate and pattern with which drivers comply with a ban. Conclusion: Under our base line assumptions a cellular phone ban is likely to be cost saving from a societal perspective. The results are sensitive to parameters for which there is very little information or for which the available information is contradictory. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mandatory driver training and road safety: the Quebec experience.

In January 1983, the Quebec Government made driver training courses mandatory for any person seeking a first driver's license. Using accident and licensure data over a five-year period, we conducted an evaluation of the impact of the enactment of mandatory driver training on: the risk of accident for newly licensed drivers; the mortality and morbidity of these accidents; the number of new drivers; and the mean age of licensure. Results of our time series analyses show that this legislation had no appreciable effect on the risk of accident or on the mortality/morbidity rate per accident for newly licensed drivers aged 18 and over. However, since 1983, the number of women under 18 years of age getting their first driver's license has increased by 20 per cent, and their mean age has decreased from over 18 to under 18. Mandatory driver training may have increased the numbers and risks of accidents for young, primarily female, drivers.     

Cellular phones, cordless phones, and the risks of glioma and meningioma (Interphone Study Group, Germany)

The widespread use of cellular telephones has generated concern about possible adverse health effects, particularly brain tumors. In this population-based case-control study carried out in three regions of Germany, all incident cases of glioma and meningioma among patients aged 30-69 years were ascertained during 2000-2003. Controls matched on age, gender, and region were randomly drawn from population registries. In total, 366 glioma cases, 381 meningioma cases, and 1,494 controls were interviewed. Overall use of a cellular phone was not associated with brain tumor risk; the respective odds ratios were 0.98 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74, 1.29) for glioma and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.62, 1.13) for meningioma. Among persons who had used cellular phones for 10 or more years, increased risk was found for glioma (odds ratio = 2.20, 95% CI: 0.94, 5.11) but not for meningioma (odds ratio = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.35, 3.37). No excess of temporal glioma (p = 0.41) or meningioma (p = 0.43) was observed in cellular phone users as compared with nonusers. Cordless phone use was not related to either glioma risk or meningioma risk. In conclusion, no overall increased risk of glioma or meningioma was observed among these cellular phone users; however, for long-term cellular phone users, results need to be confirmed before firm conclusions can be drawn.     

Use of mobile phones by medical staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados: evidence for both benefit and harm

All members of medical staff, including students, were asked to participate in a self-administered questionnaire concerning patterns of mobile phone use and care. Participants' phones were cultured for micro-organisms. Healthcare professionals working in close proximity to sensitive equipment were surveyed concerning adverse events associated with mobile phones. Telephone operators were asked to monitor time elapsed as they attempted to contact medical staff by various methods. Of 266 medical staff and students at the time of the study, 116 completed questionnaires (response rate=44%). Almost all (98%) used mobile phones: 67% used their mobile phones for hospital-related matters; 47% reported using their phone while attending patients. Only 3% reported washing their hands after use and 53% reported never cleaning their phone. In total, 101 mobile phones were cultured for micro-organisms; 45% were culture-positive and 15% grew Gram-negative pathogens. The survey of staff working in close proximity to sensitive equipment revealed only one report of minor interference with life-saving equipment. Telephone operators were able to contact medical staff within 2min most easily by mobile phone. Mobile phones were used widely by staff and were considered by most participants as a more efficient means of communication. However, microbial contamination is a risk associated with the infrequent cleaning of phones. Hospitals should develop policies to address the hygiene of mobile phones.     

易发事故驾驶员的人口学特征与其个性特征关系研究

目的 探讨易发事故驾驶员的人口学特征与其个性特征的关系。方法 采用横断面调查方法,收集263例易发事故驾驶员,通过艾森克人格问卷（eysenck personality questionnaire,EPQ）和人口学特征量表进行调查分析。结果 易发事故驾驶员的文化程度、婚姻、月收入、吸烟及饮酒情况与其个性特征（外倾性（extraversion,E）、精神质（psychoticism,P）和神经质（neuroticism,N））均有关联（均有P<0.05）。不同年龄组的E、P、N得分不同,≥ 40岁组的E、P、N得分均低于其他组（均有P<0.05）。不同文化程度的E得分不同,初中及以下的E得分均高于其他组（均有P<0.05）。不同婚姻状况的E、P、N得分不同,离异或丧偶的E、P、N得分均高于其他组（均有P<0.05）。不同月收入的E、P、N得分不同,2 500元以下组的E、P、N得分均高于其他组（均有P<0.05）。吸烟组E得分高于不吸烟组（t=2.516,P=0.012）;饮酒组E、P得分均高于不饮酒组（均有P<0.05）。结论 易发事故驾驶员的人口学特征与其个性特征有关,年龄小、文化低、离异或丧偶、低收入及吸烟饮酒者E、P、N得分较高,说明其外倾性、精神质及神经质人格特征较明显。     

The role of age and experience in bus drivers' accidents

This paper contains part of the results of a repetitive and comprehensive analysis of accidents among bus drivers. In a series of articles different aspects of the aetiology of bus drivers' accidents will be highlighted. The results presented indicate a strong negative association of experience with accident risk, modified to a certain extent by age. The suggested interaction between accident liability, age and experience warranted more detailed attention to the first few years of employment, revealing systematic differences between groups of drivers of different age groups but with comparable experience: younger drivers had higher accident rates than older ones. An increase of accident risk during the second year of employment after an initial decline could be detected in the younger group of drivers; the older group only showed a continuous decline.     

Cellular phone use and risk of benign and malignant parotid gland tumors--a nationwide case-control study

The objective of this nationwide study was to assess the association between cellular phone use and development of parotid gland tumors (PGTs). The methods were based on the international INTERPHONE study that aimed to evaluate possible adverse effects of cellular phone use. The study included 402 benign and 58 malignant incident cases of PGTs diagnosed in Israel at age 18 years or more, in 2001-2003, and 1,266 population individually matched controls. For the entire group, no increased risk of PGTs was observed for ever having been a regular cellular phone user (odds ratio = 0.87; p = 0.3) or for any other measure of exposure investigated. However, analysis restricted to regular users or to conditions that may yield higher levels of exposure (e.g., heavy use in rural areas) showed consistently elevated risks. For ipsilateral use, the odds ratios in the highest category of cumulative number of calls and call time without use of hands-free devices were 1.58 (95% confidence interval: 1.11, 2.24) and 1.49 (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 2.13), respectively. The risk for contralateral use was not significantly different from 1. A positive dose-response trend was found for these measurements. Based on the largest number of benign PGT patients reported to date, our results suggest an association between cellular phone use and PGTs.     

某市市级医院医务人员手机带菌状况与影响因素研究

目的为了解某市市级医院医务人员手机使用及其表面带菌状况,探讨手机使用行为和带菌状况的影响因素。方法2016年4—6月对某市24所市级医院中111名医务人员进行问卷调查、现场观察及手机表面采样。结果共发放并回收有效问卷111份,回收率及有效率均为100.00%。调查对象平均年龄为(32.00±9.03)岁,以女性和护士为主。调查对象中95.50%使用触屏手机,24.32%的医务人员诊疗时有使用手机的现象,65.77%的医务人员每天手机使用时间2 h,93.69%对手机进行过清洁消毒。98.20%医务人员认为手机表面存在病原微生物。共采集111份手机表面样本,合格率80.18%,污染率95.50%,平均菌落数为2.90 CFU/cm~2,最大细菌含量为111.60 CFU/cm~2。44份手机样本表面共检出18种55株致病菌或条件致病菌。年龄、性别、职业是手机使用行为和对手机认知态度的影响因素。性别、职业、手机使用持续时间的手机表面合格率分别比较,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05);年龄、性别、职业、手机使用持续时间、是否使用手机壳/套的手机表面细菌染菌量分别比较,差异均具有统计学意义(均P0.05)。结论手机表面存在的潜在致病菌可能会通过医务人员诊疗过程中使用手机的行为引发医院感染。     

Health survey of professional drivers

A cross-sectional health survey comprising 633 male drivers showed that the frequencies of some complaints, for instance, pain in the shoulders and in the back of the neck, increased in older age groups. The frequencies of elevated blood pressure and electrocardiographic findings, on the other hand, tended to decrease among the older drivers. The percentage of drivers who had met with some kind of accident decreased among drivers aged 45-54 years. It was assumed that the results point toward health-based selection. The rate of turnover and its causes were studied in a cohort of 1,597 drivers. The results of the turnover study supported the findings of the health survey.     

Brain tumors and salivary gland cancers among cellular telephone users

BACKGROUND: Possible risk of cancer associated with use of cellular telephones has lately been a subject of public debate. METHODS: We conducted a register-based, case-control study on cellular phone use and cancer. The study subjects were all cases of brain tumor (N = 398) and salivary gland cancer (N = 34) diagnosed in Finland in 1996, with five controls per case. RESULTS: Cellular phone use was not associated with brain tumors or salivary gland cancers overall, but there was a weak association between gliomas and analog cellular phones. CONCLUSIONS: A register-based approach has limited value in risk assessment of cellular phone use owing to lack of information on exposure.     

手机使用与胶质瘤风险关系的Meta分析

目的综合分析手机使用与胶质瘤发病的流行病学资料,研究手机与胶质瘤发病风险的关系,探讨手机使用的安全性。方法通过在线检索文献资料,采用随机效应模型合并分析8篇手机使用与胶质瘤发病风险关系的病例对照研究。通过Meta回归筛选异质性影响因素,以病例对照比为影响因素,进行亚组分析。结果本次Meta分析共包括3 328例胶质瘤病人和7 527例对照。各研究存在异质性,随机效应模型结果表明,手机使用与胶质瘤发病风险无统计学关联,合并OR值为1.03（95%CI：0.77～1.38）;长期使用手机增加胶质瘤的发病风险,合并OR值为2.67（95%CI：1.84～3.87）。病例对照比值〉0.5和〈0.5的亚组使用手机对胶质瘤的风险均未发现有显著影响,而长期使用手机使胶质瘤发病风险增加,合并OR分别为2.10（95%CI：1.71～2.59）和2.19（95%CI：1.64～2.92）。结论尚不能说明短期的手机使用增加胶质瘤的发病风险,但使用10年以上者胶质瘤的发病风险增加,两者间有潜在的剂量-反应关系。     

Cellular phones: are they detrimental?

The issue of possible health effects of cellular phones is very much alive in the public's mind where the rapid increase in the number of the users of cell phones in the last decade has increased the exposure of people to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Health consequences of long term use of mobile phones are not known in detail but available data indicates the development of non specific annoying symptoms on acute exposure to mobile phone radiations. In an attempt to determine the prevalence of such cell phones associated health manifestations and the factors affecting their occurrence, a cross sectional study was conducted in five randomly selected faculties of Alexandria University. Where, 300 individuals including teaching staff, students and literate employee were equally allocated and randomly selected among the five faculties. Data about mobile phone's users and their medical history, their pattern of mobile usage and the possible deleterious health manifestations associated with cellular phone use was collected. The results revealed 68% prevalence of mobile phone usage, nearly three quarters of them (72.5%) were complainers of the health manifestations. They suffered from headache (43%), earache (38.3%), sense of fatigue (31.6%), sleep disturbance (29.5%), concentration difficulty (28.5%) and face burning sensation (19.2%). Both univariate and multivariate analysis were consistent in their findings. Symptomatic users were found to have significantly higher frequency of calls/day, longer call duration and longer total duration of mobile phone usage/day than non symptomatic users. For headache both call duration and frequency of calls/day were the significant predicting factors for its occurrence (chi2 = 18.208, p = 0.0001). For earache, in addition to call duration, the longer period of owning the mobile phone were significant predictors (chi2 = 16.996, p = 0.0002). Sense of fatigue was significantly affected by both call duration and age of the user (chi2 = 24.214, p = 0.0000), while burning sensation was only affected by frequency of calls/day (chi2 = 5.360, p = 0.020). According to the 95% confidence interval of frequency and duration of calls, the study recommended not to increase the call duration more than four minutes and limit their frequency to less than seven calls/day with total duration of exposure less than 22 min./day.     

南京市不同人群道路交通伤害知识、信念、行为调查研究

目的 了解南京市不同人群预防道路交通伤害的知识、信念、行为情况,比较事故驾驶员、非事故驾驶员和社区居民中非驾驶人员知识、信念、行为的不同,为开展道路交通安全健康教育工作提供参考。方法 采用问卷调查方法 ,收集事故驾驶员和非事故驾驶员以及社区居民中非驾驶人员知识、信念、行为情况。结果 调查了170名事故驾驶员、167名非事故驾驶员和175名社区居民中的非驾驶员。事故驾驶员与非事故驾驶员预防和控制道路交通伤害的知识、态度、行为均存在一定的差异。事故驾驶员的知识知晓率和交通安全相关行为遵守情况均低于非事故驾驶员（P〈0.01）,态度方面认知率高于非事故组驾驶员（P〈0.01）。非驾驶员的社区居民观看过道路交通安全的宣传片和愿意接受道路安全的免费教育的人数低于其他两组（分别为62.86%和75.43%）。结论 不同人群道路交通伤害知识、态度、行为存在差异,事故驾驶员的道路交通知识知晓率和遵守道路交通安全相关行为低于非事故驾驶员,是导致道路交通伤害的危险因素。