Federal officials on Tuesday called for a nationwide ban on the use of personal electronic devices while driving—including talking on the phone, as well as sending and reading text messages.
The recommendation, from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), came out of a board meeting intended to evaluate an August 2010 multi-vehicle accident in Missouri caused by a distracted driver.
"More than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a statement. "It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving."
"No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life," she said.
The NTSB is an independent agency that investigates transportation accidents and makes recommendations on safety-related issues. It has no authority to regulate, fund, or be directly involved in the operation of any mode of transportation. A lawmaker, however, could conceivably use the agency's recommendations in crafting legislation.
In recent years, many states have passed laws that require drivers to use hands-free devices when talking and driving. Lately, the focus has shifted to texting and driving, with at least 35 states banning that practice as well, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
NTSB recommendations would take it one step further, urging drivers to focus completely on the road and not be distracted by any sort of electronic device. The agency pointed to a 2004 incident in which an experienced bus driver, distracted by a hands-free cell phone, struck the underside of a bridge, injuring 11 high school students.
The Missouri incident, meanwhile, occurred when a pickup truck ran into the back of a truck-tractor that had slowed because of construction. The pickup truck was then hit from behind by a school bus, which was hit by a second school bus following behind. Two people died and 38 were injured. During its investigation, NTSB found that the pickup driver had sent and read 11 text messages in the 11 minutes before the accident, including one just moments before the collision.
"The data is clear; the time to act is now. How many more lives will be lost before we, as a society, change our attitudes about the deadliness of distractions?" Hersman said.
The NTSB also cited other transportation-related distracted driving incidents, including those that resulted in train, boat, and airline mishaps, like the two pilots who overflew their destination by more than 100 miles because they were distracted by their laptops.
In response to the study, CTIA, the trade association that represents the nation's major wireless providers, said it agrees that "when drivers are behind the wheel, safety should be their number one priority."
"Manual texting while driving is clearly incompatible with safety, which is why we have historically supported a ban on texting while driving," CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent said in a statement. "As far as talking on wireless devices while driving, we defer to state and local lawmakers and their constituents as to what they believe are the most appropriate laws where they live."
Last week, a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that texting while driving increased by half last year. In late November, the agency launched "OMG"—a new public service announcement intended to warn kids about distracted driving, which will run at Regal Cinema movie theaters and on gas station screens.
"Teen drivers are particularly vulnerable to distracted driving, which is why we are making an extra effort to ensure they understand the dangers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.
The Transportation Department launched a national distracted driving campaign in 2009, including a Web site dedicated to the issue, distraction.gov. That same year, President Obama banned the use of text messaging: while operating a government-owned vehicle; on a government-issued device while driving; or while driving their own cars on official government business.