WASHINGTON, (July 13, 2005) — Drivers yapping on their cell phones while behind the wheel are four-times more likely to be involved in a road accident, according to a study commissioned by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and published in the British Medical Journal.

The study, which was based on cell phone billing records of 744 drivers and interviews with crash victims, also found that there was virtually no difference in the safety level between hand-held and hands-free cell phones.

“This isn’t intuitive. You’d think using a hands-free phone would be less distracting, so it wouldn’t increase crash risk as much as using a hand-held phone. But we found that either phone type increased the risk,” said the study’s author Anne McCartt, who is also IIHS vice-president for research.

The fourfold increase in crash rates was consistent among drivers, with male and female drivers experiencing similar levels of risk, as well as senior drivers and drivers under 30.

— with files from Associate Press