• 14
  • December
    2011

Currently, Louisiana bans cell phone use for novice drivers and for school bus drivers. A proposal to ban cell phone use by commercial truckers failed in the legislature. Now, though, the National Transportation Safety Board has taken the debate a big leap forward. The agency recently announced that it would push for a nationwide ban on all cell phone use by drivers of any motor vehicle anywhere in the country.

The proposed ban comes because of the NTSB's growing concern with the effects of car accidents caused by distracted driving related to the use by drivers of cellular phones. More than 3,000 people were killed last year alone because of distracted driving, the NTSB says. In fact, the agency believes the fatality count related to distracted driving is much higher, because official records may or may not list distracted driving as a cause of a car crash.

Under the proposed ban, hands-free devices would not be exempted, as they are under some bans currently in force in some states. The distraction is being engaged in a call, not just having to hold a phone with one hand.

The NTSB's hoped-for ban would not restrict cell phone use by passengers at all.

The agency believes that more than 13 million drivers across the country are on cell phones at any given time during daylight hours. The NTSB has compared the seriousness of distracted driving (related to cell phone use) to drunk driving.

Source: CNN "NTSB recommends full ban on use of cell phones while driving" Dec. 14, 2011