The more gadgets we get, the more opportunities we have to be distracted while driving. This June, Washington became the 30th state to make texting behind the wheel a punishable offense. It’s a little too early to know what kind of effect the new law is having here. But one just-released study claims that, rather than prevent accidents, the ban actually may be causing them.Researchers at the Highway Loss Data Institute compared rates of collision insurance claims in four states — California, Louisiana, Minnesota and yours truly — before and after they enacted texting bans. Crash rates rose in three of the four states after bans were enacted. (In Washington the rise was deemed not statistically significant.)The people behind the study suggest that the texting bans aren’t stopping drivers from tapping out messages on their iPhones or Blackberrys, they’re just encouraging them to text more sneakily. Meaning phones held lower in the lap and drivers paying even less attention to the road.If true, it would mean that drivers worried about getting caught diddling with their phones are making for even more dangerous roads. Which is silly, considering next to no one is getting caught anyway.