A report ordered last year by the California Legislature on the safety of cellular phones was returned to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) last week after CHP Commissioner Dwight O. Helmick announced that the number of wireless phone-related highway accidents in 2001 was too low. The report, originally ordered by the Legislature during its debate on whether hands-free cell phones should be required in the state, cites cellular phone use as the cause of 913 highway crashes in 2001. However, additional traffic analysis suggests that the number of cell-phone related accidents would increase to over 4,600 if the CHP incorporated crashes in which the responsible party was talking on a cell phone at the time of the accident.

Because the higher figure only accounts for nine months of 2001, analysts believe the total number of wireless phone-related accidents in 2001 in the state of California may exceed 6,000.