Study: Drinking and driving down, cell phone use increases

Maryland drivers are drinking and driving less but using cell phones behind the wheel more, according to a new survey of state motorists from the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

The seven-year effort from Dr. Kenneth Beck was based on annual random telephone surveys of about 850 licensed drivers in the state, and shows that as fewer people report drinking and driving there has been a corresponding increase in support for strict penalties.

From 2003 to 2009, the number of respondents who said they drove "after having a few drinks" in the past 30 days fell from more than 13 percent to 7.5...