Abstract
Research on the use of telephones by drivers has addressed both the physical and cognitive challenges presented during the driving task. The authors discuss some of the issues raised by this research, and note the importance of co-ordinating on-the-road studies with simulator experiments, They also examine the methodological problems associated with conducting analyses of data drawn from traffic accident reports. Several results from their recent study of these accident data are presented that help situate the issue of mobile telephones in the broader context of cognitive challenges while driving. (Author/publisher).