The cell phone effect on pedestrian fatalities

This paper examines the impact of cell phone usage on pedestrian fatalities in the United States using econometric models and specification error tests. The model makes use of a polynomial specification so as to allow for potential life-saving and life-taking effects of cell phones. The results indicate that when cell phones were first introduced they had an adverse effect on pedestrian safety, but after a critical number of cell phones was reached, the life-saving effect dominated over the life-taking effect. However, as the number of phones continued to increase, the life-taking effect once again dominated over the life-saving effects.