Police officers, paramedics and firefighters may be some of the most distracted drivers on the road, according to an article in the New York Times, which examined the impact of in-car technology among emergency vehicles on the road.

As reported earlier this month on our New York Injury Lawyer blog, authorities are increasingly focused on the risk of New York City car accidents caused by distracted driving.

In fact, New York and New Jersey are among the nation's leaders in enacting laws banning text messaging, cell phone use and other means of driver distraction -- laws which police officers are charged with enforcing even as they deal with cell phones, in-car computers and more distractions than almost any motorist on the road.

Emergency vehicles are the most wired cars on the road. And police officers and paramedics are expected to use such high-tech in-car equipment, often while traveling at high speeds, in and out of traffic with sirens activated.

While emergency personnel argue the equipment is of huge benefit, it also presents clear risk of driver distraction, which can lead to serious and fatal car accidents.

New York Paramedic Philip Macaluso recounted a recent incident to the Times: He was rushing to the hospital while using a dashboard computer and looked up just in time to slam on the brakes and avoid a pedestrian who had stepped into the street.

While no statistics are kept regarding instances of driver distraction causing crashes among New York's fleet of emergency vehicles, there is ample anecdotal evidence that driver distraction is a contributing problem nationwide.

-In April 2008, a West Nyack EMT was looking at his GPS screen when he struck a flatbed truck, shearing off the side of the ambulance and leaving his partner paralyzed.

-In June 2007, an Illinois sheriff's deputy seriously injured another driver in a traffic accident after looking down to enter information into his in-car computer in response to a dispatcher's call.

Emergency vehicles have become increasingly high-tech; 75 percent have on-board computers, a figure that has doubled in the last 10 years. About 30 percent of ambulances have such technology, a number that continues to grow.

And law enforcement has grown increasingly reliant upon GPS systems, cell phones and other in-car technologies, which safety advocates continue to blame for driver distraction and serious or fatal car accidents.

"The technology is enormously beneficial," said Jeffrey Lindsey, a retired fire chief in Florida who now is an executive at the Health and Safety Institute, which provides continuing education for emergency services workers.

But he acknowledged the "almost exponential" increase in distractions emergency worker face inside the vehicle and told the Times that additional training is needed.

The New York Fire Department said drivers are not supposed to use on-board computers in traffic, instead leaving it to partners riding in the ambulance. However, a partner is often in back with the patient. Interviews the Times conducted with medics and EMT's found they routinely use such devices while driving because they can't wait for certain information.

Researchers are developing hands-free technology that will someday allow emergency personnel to operate the radio, lights, sirens and even in-car computers, using a voice-activated speaker.

In the meantime, the driver with the most potential distractions inside the vehicle, may be the police officer or ambulance in the lane next to you.