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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Researchers at the University of Utah have found talking on a cell phone while driving could be as bad as driving drunk.
According to the recent study the levels of impairment are nearly equal. And police say the roll of cell phones in crashes is likely underreported.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Preston Raban says unless a driver acknowledges using a cell phone or a witness can attest to it, it's hard to know if a cell phone contributed to a crash.
The potential for cell phone use to contribute to crashes has prompted Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County to ban employees from using cell phones in their work vehicles.
Research suggests that while drunken drivers and drivers who use cell phones exhibited different problems driving, both had trouble in overall traffic safety.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
