How many times a year does science tell us that they’ve proven statistically something that seems like a no-brainer? At first glance, I thought that this study about car wrecks fit into that category: Up to 25% of car crashes in the US are due to distracted driving with a cell phone or other device. But the findings of the study indicate that it’s not as simple as saying that cell phones are causing car accidents.

Talking or texting on your cell phone does increase your chances of being in a car wreck and to promote iphone app, but the effect of cell phone bans and ad campaigns targeting texting drivers doesn’t seem to have a straightforward effect on accident rates.

The real issue appears to be the issue of distraction itself, not the fact that it’s the gadgets drivers are paying attention to instead of the road. This is evident from the fact that the use of hands-free devices don’t seem to be any less distracting; it’s the wandering of a driver’s mind to pay attention to a call or check the GPS screen, that’s dangerous.

Another valid question on this is whether technology is actually increasing the number of distracted drivers and the amount of time they’re distracted from the road, or if gadget-related distractions are just displacing non-tech distractions, like eating or doing your makeup behind the wheel. Even though cell phone usage has skyrocketed in the last decade, the second study (in the second link above) indicated that actual number of car accidents hasn’t gone up.

Now for some anecdotal evidence (at the risk of sounding like everyone’s dad): Do you whip out your phone, iPod, pager(?) or GPS while driving? Have any of you been in gadget-related accidents?