"No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a statement announcing the Board's proposal.

The NTSB wants all 50 states and the District of Columbia to ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices - with the exception of those that support the act of driving - for all drivers.  The states would have to pass such laws, as the NTSB lacks the authority to do so.

According to the Associated Press, Hersman acknowledged that complying would involve changing what has become ingrained behavior for many Americans.

"We're not here to win a popularity contest," she said.

The NTSB's call for the drastic measure came on the heels of its investigation of a fatal pile-up in Missouri last year that killed two passengers on a school bus.  The probe revealed that just prior to the accident, the teenaged driver of the pickup that started the chain-reaction crash had sent or received 11 text messages within 11 minutes.

According to a survey of more than 6,000 drivers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, two out of 10 American drivers overall - and half of drivers between 21 and 24 - say they've read messages or emailed from the while driving.  According to the NTSB, more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents.

Numerous studies have highlighted the danger that comes with cell phone use and driving.  A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study of commercial drivers found that a safety-critical event is 163 times more likely if a driver is texting, e-mailing, or accessing the Internet, according to the NTSB.  Research from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has found that simply listening to someone speak on the other end of a cell phone reduces by 37 percent the amount of brain activity associated with driving, compared to driving alone.  Another CMU study revealed that making cell phones hands-free or voice-activated is not sufficient in eliminating distraction to drivers.

Cell Phone Texting Accidents | Lawsuits, Lawyers | Text, Messages, Driving | Injuries, Fatalities

Were you injured in a car accident caused by cell phone / texting use? More and more traffic accidents are being attributed to cell phone use and text messaging while driving. In fact, one recent study found that 1.4 million car crashes involved talking on a cell phone, while another 200,000 occurred while a driver was texting. According to researchers from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Ft. Worth, texting behind the wheel accounted for 16,141 deaths between 2002 and 2007.

Personal injury lawyers in our firm who practice exclusively in the area of car accidents are investigating the link between cell phones, texting and traffic accidents. If you or a loved one were injured in a car crash that involved the negligent use of a cell phone or text messaging, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Our personal injury lawyers offer free case evaluations to all car accident victims, including those that involve cell phones and/or texting. If you or a loved one were seriously injured in such a car accident, we urge you to contact us today to protect your legal rights.

Cell Phones and Driving

Distracted driving is a leading cause of serious car accidents, and the growing use of cell phones and text messaging has only added to the danger. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), at any given moment during the daylight hours, over 800,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone. According to the agency, available research indicates that cell phone use while driving, whether it is a hands-free or hand-held device, degrades a driver’s performance.

Consider these statistics from the NHTSA:

• The leading source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device.
• In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died and almost half a million were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to the NHTSA. Of the fatalities, 995 involved the use of a cell phone.
• Of 448,000 people injured in distracted driving crashes, 24,000 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction.
• 10 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time.

Other studies have found that talking on a cell phone or texting can severely impair the ability to drive. For instances, researchers at the University of Utah have determined that cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. Another study from Carnegie Mellon University found that driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.

Teens and Cell Phones

Teenagers are probably the most enthusiastic users of cell phones and texting. In fact, an April 2010 study from the Pew Research Foundation found that fully 72 percent of all teens — or 88 percent of teen cell phone users — are text-messagers – up from the 51 percent of teens who were texters in 2006. More than half of teens (54 percent) are daily texters, the Pew study found. Among all teens, their frequency of use of texting has now overtaken the frequency of every other common form of interaction with their friends.

Most disturbingly, 34 percent of teens aged 16-17 admitted to texting while driving. According to the Pew study, that translates into 26 percent of all American teens ages 16-17.

Other findings from the Pew study included:

• Half (52 percent) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17 say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. That translates into 43 percent of all American teens ages 16-17.
• 48 percent of all teens ages 12-17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting.
• 40 percent say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

Boys and girls are equally likely to report texting behind the wheel as well as riding with texting drivers. As teens get older, they are more likely to report riding with drivers who text, the Pew study found.

Legal Help for Victims of Cell Phone Car Accidents

No one should ever suffer a serious car crash because of another's cell phone use or text messaging. If you or a loved one were seriously injured because of a traffic accident involving a cell phone, you have valuable legal rights. To find out how our car accident lawyers can help you, please fill out our online form, or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) today.