Should Drivers Hang Up? State Officials To Weigh In

Highhway safety officials from the 50 states meeting in Kansas City (MO) will decide whether to recommend banning all cell phone use by drivers. Such a ban would include handheld and even hands-free devices.

"I think it's prompted by concern that, regardless of law, any type of cell phone use while driving is dangerous. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Carnegie Mellon and a whole host of other entities have shown that just because you're hands-free there's no safety benefit to that," says Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association. More than 5,000 highway deaths were attributed to distracted driving last year. Adoption of the resolution wouldn't be binding; each state legislature would need to act. But there is clearly some momentum behind the notion of banning or restricting cell phone use in cars. Eight states and the District of Columbia now ban handheld cell phone use; 30 states ban texting while driving. Automakers say they're doing what they can to keep drivers' hands on the wheel. Louis Tijerina, a senior technical specialist with Ford, says the company's onboard computer system called SYNC is aimed at helping drivers avoid fiddling with navigation and music systems.