As if narrow streets and too many cars weren't enough of a headache for Japanese drivers, a new menace has appeared in the form of the mobile phone. Drivers using mobile phones caused 2,297 traffic accidents in 1997, killing 25 and injuring more than 3,000, the National Police Agency said in the first survey of its kind. Nearly half the phone-related accidents took place while drivers were trying to answer the phone, followed by 27.6 percent as they were trying to make a call, and finally 16.4 percent while they were speaking on the phone, a police spokesman said.

(c) Reuters