Risky behavior: cell phone use while driving

In the present experiment we investigated the percentage of drivers who use cell phones while driving in a small city in central New York. We expected that the rates of cell phone use would be comparable to national levels, and that the percentage of cell phone use would be higher as the distance from the police station increased. We took observations of vehicles and drivers at three locations and on two different days of the week. One of the locations was adjacent to the police station whereas the others were located 1 and 1(1/2) miles from the police station. While the overall results were consistent with other estimates of national rates of cell phone use while driving, the differences we found between the rates at the police station and at remote locations were negligible.