Cell phones taken into evidence in recent fatal wrecks

Cell phones have become part of the evidence being collected in the deaths of a Tamaroa man, Travis Taylor, 21, on Thursday, April 4 on the Sesser Blacktop (Rt. 154) and in the deaths of children Ty Hood and Emily Hood, who were passengers in a car driven by their mother Amber Rucks, 23, of Du Quoin March 15.

That is not to say that distracted driving was the cause of each accident, but first responders at the scene of the Taylor accident north of Du Quoin say it appears a cell phone was laying on the young man's chest when the car came to rest.

One driver who apparently passed the Rucks vehicle, contacted Du Quoin police to tell them a car matching the Rucks vehicle was driving erratically just before the wreck and that the driver was distracted.

Illinois State Police say both investigations are in the early stages and they cannot comment in any way about cell phones apparently found in the vehicles nor about what telephone records may or may not indicate. In fact, authorities warn that the investigations are in the early stages, and that no assumptions can be made.

With that said, studies show at any moment on a regular weekday, about 660,000 people across the U.S. were sitting in the drivers seat and talking on their cell phones. Twice that number were engaging with their mobile device in some way, checking calendar appointments perhaps, replying to email or planning a route on their maps app.

The new numbers come from the most recent National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) conducted by a wing of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This study also shows that texting-and-driving stats haven't dipped since 2010, and some trends, like young drivers who use cell phones, seem to be on the rise.

In the new study, women were more likely than men to reach for their cell phones while driving. As expected, young adults and teens, more than folks 30 and older, were most likely to be texting or checking email while at the wheel.

To get the new numbers, data collectors were stationed at 1,356 locations around the country, and recorded the behavior of 38,215 drivers. They made notes of drivers talking while holding a phone, texting, perhaps checking email, and also if they were speaking on very visible bluetooth headset or headphones. This data was then statistically extrapolated to estimate how many people across the country, not just in those locations, are probably fiddling with cell phones.