SPECIAL SECTION Preface to the Special Section on Driver Distraction

ch there is a clear marker of a causal agent, crashes related to cell phones do not leave a telltale trace. Even in the portion of cases for which cell phone records are available, it is often difficult to precisely time-stamp the crash and relate it to the distraction. Many telematic devices leave an even weaker trace. Although hands-free cell phones may eliminate some of the visual and manual demands that undermine driving performance, many studies have shown that the cognitive demands of conversation are not eliminated with hands-free devices (Brown et al., 1969; Strayer & Johnston, 2001) and may even increase if the intelligibility of the hands-free devices is less than that of the handheld device (Matthews, Legg, & Charlton, 2003). New telematic devices have the potential to impose visual, manual, and cognitive demands that may greatly exceed those of cell phones, further undermining driving safety. Controversy regarding this new technology points to a need for a scientific basi