BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A battle over cell phone safety played out at a Congressional hearing today. At issue: Are cell phones the latest terror on the road, or are they simply a distraction? CNN's Skip Loescher and the emotional debate.</s>SKIP LOESCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patricia Pena and her two and a half year old daughter of suburban Philadelphia were driving home in November of 1999 when another car slammed into them.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to police reports the driver was using his cellular phone when he ran a stop sign at 45 miles per hour broad siding the passenger side of my vehicle right where Morgan Lee was sitting in her car seat.</s>LOESCHER: Morgan Lee died from massive head injuries. And her mother wants the government to do something to limit or ban cell phone use while driving.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even a momentary distraction can lead to a crash.</s>LOESCHER: But Shelton told the House subcommittee that it would be premature to ban the use of cell phones while driving.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do they increase the risk of crash involvement? Yes. All distractions cause crashes. But is it a large problem? Not yet.</s>LOESCHER: While surveys by NHTSA and others show driver distractions in all forms are contributing factors in 20 to 30 percent of crashes, a University Of North Carolina study shows driver say cell phone use is only a factor in less than 2 percent of crashes. But even the cell phone industry says people should limit the use of cell phones while driving. It suggests drivers answer these questions before making a call.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this call necessary? Is this the right time to make this call?</s>LOESCHER: One other piece of advice from the industry, pull over and park before making a cell phone call. Skip Loescher, CNN, Washington.
Using Cell Phones While Driving Provokes Debate in Washington