On Mon, 17 Aug 2015 17:19:01 -0700, Ameri-Clean wrote:

Have you considered that cell usage and texting might be causing
FEWER accidents? My reasons:
1. Talking or texting keeps the driver awake--less likely
to fall asleep and have a collision.
2. Knowing that talking or texting is a distraction,
drivers consciously pay more attention to the road.
3. The increased alertness resulting from texting could
last for minutes, or even hours after the texting has stopped.

Of course there will be a few accidents caused by the driver
momentarily not looking at the road but, overall, the rate
may be lower among texters. A meaningful statistic would show
the rate of accidents per 1,000 who text often or sometimes
vs. per 1,000 who never text.

You have supplied a possible fifth solution to the conundrum!

I have noted already that a car with a cellphone might actually
be a *safer* car than one without, simply because of the lack of
need for reading road signs in the rain, or for making u-turns
in unfamiliar territory, or for avoiding traffic backups, etc.

Certainly a cellphone equipped car is much safer *after* the accident,
because help can be on its way even before you step out of the vehicle.

So, maybe the conundrum is solved by the assumption that cellphones
both cause and prevent accidents in *exactly equal numbers*.

That would be a fifth solution to the conundrum.