The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is recommending a ban of mobile phone use by drivers in all 50 states. This recommendation is following a deadly chain- reaction crash that occurred in Missouri earlier last week. The crash was caused by a 19 year old driver who had sent/received 11 text messages in the 13 minutes prior to the crash.

The board compares mobile phone use while operating a vehicle to smoking and drunken driving. Mobile phone use is no less distracting than those, and unfortunately it may be too ingrained with drivers for them to stop. Nearly 9.4% of road fatalities for 2010 were related to driver distraction. Even hands- free calls can be distracting to drivers, so therefore the hands- free technology would have to go as well.

This ban would certainly not end all distracted driving, but it would certainly help. Because this ban is so difficult to enforce it is hard to tell whether or not people will abide by it or just ignore it and take their chances.

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