Are you driving? You shouldn’t be reading this then…

There’s a story from across the ‘pond’ today, in America the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the agency for investigating major accidents, has called for a complete ban on calling and texting whilst driving, even when using a handsfree device.

The article cites the fact that more than 3,000 people died last year in distraction-related crashes, the majority of these caused by people using a mobile phone. The NTSB is calling on all 50 states to ban the use of personal electronics while driving, and, contrary to early reports, it is proposing there be no exception for handsfree devices.

The article continues

“No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life,” Board chairman Deborah Hersman said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving.”

The NTSB is proposing that devices that aid in driving, presumably navigation systems, be allowed, as well as emergency use of devices.

Although the NTSB is calling on the states to pass such laws, the U.S. government has been known to threaten the withholding of federal highway funds in order to get its way on issues such as speed limits or mandatory seat belt laws.

“The wireless industry agree that when drivers are behind the wheel, safety should be their number one priority, manual texting while driving is clearly incompatible with safety, which is why we have historically supported a ban on texting while driving. As far as talking on wireless devices while driving, we defer to state and local lawmakers and their constituents as to what they believe are the most appropriate laws where they live.”

There are also an increasing number of apps, some offered by carriers, that allow parents and drivers to shut off most cellular functions when a device is being used in a moving vehicle. In some cases, the device can automatically text a reply noting that the recipient is driving.

Source: All things HD