Author; Matt SundeenWireless telecommunications technologies are quickly becoming a significant concern when it comes to road safety. Nearly 90 million people subscribe to wireless phone services, and 85 percent of these subscribers use their phones while driving to conduct business, report emergencies, stay in touch with loved ones, ask for assistance, and report aggressive or drunk drivers. It's not just about phones. more on the road. In 1999, two major automakers, General Motors and Ford, made deals with telecommunications companies that will improve wireless capabilities in even more vehicles. Cars of the future will provide drivers with concierge services, web-based information, online email capabilities, CD-ROM access, audio and on-screen navigation technology, and a variety of other information and entertainment services. Telecom companies say new technology in cars will not only improve commerce but also road safety. It is estimated that cell phone users already make around 98,000 emergency calls every day, and drivers can make billions of dollars in transactions every year. Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have concluded that cell phones often reduce emergency response times and actually save lives. New technology could also make it easier for people to drive more safely on the road. State policymakers, however, must weigh the promise of wireless technology in cars against growing evidence of potential dangers. A 1997 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that distraction caused by telephone use in motor vehicles quadrupled the risk of collision during the short duration of a call, a rate equivalent to the harm caused by legal intoxication. Other studies - conducted in the United States, but also in Great Britain and Japan - have come to the same conclusion that talking on a cell phone, even hands-free, can pose a danger to drivers on the road. The key conclusion from these studies is that call distraction, not the actual act of dialing, impairs the driver's ability to safely operate the vehicle. Cell phones have been suspected in numerous car accidents across the country. In 1999, a driver who was also using a cell phone killed a 2-year-old girl in Pennsylvania. Another driver, distracted by a cell phone, hit and killed a state corrections officer in North Carolina. This year, a 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl suffered serious head injuries in a crash caused by a driver distracted by a cell phone.