LOS ANGELES — States should implement a full ban on
cellphones — even hands-free devices — when driving except in emergency
situations, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended on
Tuesday. The board said the dangers outweighed any benefits to talking
or texting while on the road.
“It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by
turning off electronic devices when driving,” NTSB Chairman Deborah
Hersman said. “No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life.”
The recommendation was unanimously agreed to by the
five-member board and drew attention to an August 2010 traffic collision
on Interstate 44 in Gray Summit, Mo.
In that incident, a pickup truck ran into the back of
a truck-tractor that had slowed because of a construction zone. The
pickup truck was then struck from behind by a school bus. That school
bus was then hit by a second school bus that had been following. As a
result, two people died and 38 others were injured.
The NTSB’s investigation of the case revealed that
the pickup driver sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes
preceding the accident. The last text was received moments before the
pickup struck the truck-tractor.
“The Missouri accident is the most recent distraction
accident the NTSB has investigated,” the board said. “However, the
first investigation involving distraction from a wireless electronic
device occurred in 2002, when a novice driver, distracted by a
conversation on her cell phone, veered off the roadway in Largo, Md.,
crossed the median, flipped the car over, and killed five people.”
The board doesn’t have the power to impose
restrictions, but its recommendations carry significant weight with
federal regulators and congressional and state lawmakers, according to
the Associated Press.
Laws regulating drivers’ use of hand-held devices vary from state to state.
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