Cell Phone Usage Causes

Traffic Accidents, Injuries

DANBURY — Cell phones are responsible for many traffic accidents. Some states are making it illegal to talk on the cell phone while driving.

It is estimated that talking on a cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of getting into a collision, according to the specialists at the Main Street Physical Rehabilitation Center in Danbury, an affiliate of Danbury Hospital. The number of cell phone related crashes each year is estimated at 1,700, causing $1 million in health care costs and $4 million in property damage and other expenses.

Many of these accidents result in permanent brain injury, caused by whiplash when a person’s head hits the windshield or is forcefully thrust backwards. Car crashes continue to be the number one cause of brain injuries in this country, killing 50,000 each year, according to the national Brain Injury Association.

“When the head is injured, nerve fibers of the brain, called axons, many be broken or injured. This type of injury is called ‘diffuse axonal injury,’” said neurologist Jan Mashman, MD, medical director of the Neurorehabilitation Program at Danbury Hospital.

The staff at the Main Street Physical Rehabilitation Center treats many accident patients, some of whom have serious brain injury. Many of the patients have trouble processing language, speaking, getting around, or performing activities of daily living.

Therapist Lynn Yessian, a speech-language pathologist, works with a support group of brain injury patients, many of whom are trying to relearn skills that they once knew, including getting dressed, driving a car, and cooking a meal.

“If you’re a healthy person, you probably take your everyday memory and concentration skill for granted,” said Ms Yessian. A brain injury, she said, can make it difficult for a mother to remember where her child’s school is, or for an accountant or lawyer to remember details of a client’s case.

“Everyday skills like remembering a phone number of a good friend, balancing a check book, and remembering your daily schedule can be disrupted by a seemingly minor whiplash injury or a bump on the head, as well as from the obvious injuries associated with motor vehicle accidents or falls,” she said.

With this in mind, the staff at Main Street Physical Rehabilitation Center is reminding the community to use cell phones safely. “It’s ironic,” said Dr Mashman, “that a cell phone is one of the first things you want to have on hand after an accident to call for help, and it can be the very thing that causes a collision.”

He recommends pulling off to the side of the road to make or receive a call. “It’s not easy talking and paying attention to the road at the same time,” he said. While the brain can process several things at once, like talking on the cordless phone at home while dusting or straightening up the house, it has a harder time obeying road signs and conditions while talking.

“Be safe; think really hard about whether it’s so important to call for pizza while driving in the car,” he added.