Cell phone distractions account for more than 300,000 car crashes annually, and its causing more and more states to crack down on the use of mobile devices while driving. But a new study led by Temple University and published in this month's American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds a widening gap between the evidence on distracted driving and the laws being passed to address the problem.

Jennifer Ibrahim, the study's lead author and a professor of public health at Temple, says that despite the increase in distracted driving laws, there is evidence that driver use of mobile devices is increasing.

The researchers, including Scott Burris and Evan Anderson of the Beasley School of Law, analyzed distracted driving laws passed between January 1992 and November 2010, and found that laws varied from state to state based on type of mobile communication device (cell phones, laptops, tablet computers), categories of drivers (by age or by driving permit type), and types or locations of MCD use. Enforcement and penalties also varied from state to state.

"Our study is the first step toward understanding which laws really do reduce distracted driving, and thus can reduce related crashes and associated injuries and fatalities," said Ibrahim.

Alexander Wagenaar of the University of Florida College of Medicine is a co-author on this study. Funding was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Program Office for Public Health Law Research. Read the full study