Road Safety Council Chairman Dr. Joseph Froncioni has hit out at media reports claiming his group is calling for a ban on hand-held cell phones in cars.

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown has said Bermuda would be following the lead of other jurisdictions by bringing in such a ban.

But Dr. Froncioni said there was no evidence that mobile phones were to blame for road accidents.

He attacked a Bermuda Sun article which had quoted Road Safety Officer Roxanne Christopher calling for a ban on hand-held phones in cars.

Dr. Froncioni pointed out that he spoke for the Road Safety Council, not Ms Christopher who works in the Transport Control Department.

He said: "We have not recommended that cell phone use be made an offence while driving although there is very little doubt that it creates a distraction.

"But there is no data or literature to say it's a significant problem.

"Furthermore there are a number of other things which distract drivers."

He said eating, drinking, talking with other passengers and dealing with children all took the driver's attention.

He admitted hand-held phones meant the driver had only one hand on the wheel but he said the same could be said of holding a can of soda.

Such things were already covered under current law said Dr. Froncioni who said drivers could be penalised for driving without due care and attention if they were deemed to be a danger to other road users.

"The problem is media hype."

The hand-held cell phone could actually help in accidents argued Dr. Froncioni because help could be summoned immediately.

"You will take a liberty away on very unproven grounds."

He said the Road Safety Council was simply calling for future studies in other countries on the issue to be monitored.

Drivers should pull over when taking calls and use auto dial functions if they were initiating calls said Dr. Froncioni. He added that drivers should always attempt to minimise distractions and never use them while approaching roundabouts or driving at top speed.

He said most people used phones when they were stuck in traffic jams where crashes were very unlikely.

"There is insufficient data to say it's a large contributor to road accidents."