NTSB votes to ban use of all personal electronics in cars

December 13, 2011 By Andrew Couts

Following a tragic car accident in Missouri, the National Transportation Safety Board has voted to recommend that states ban all use of cellphones and other portable electronics while operating a vehicle.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) voted unanimously today to recommend states completely ban the use of cellphones and other portable electronic devices in vehicles, reports the Associated Press. The recommendation suggests going far beyond the current restrictions on texting and talking on the phone while driving to include outlawing the use of hands-free devices.

The five-member board of the NTSB made their decision after a 19-year-old driving his pickup truck near Gray Summit, MO, crashed into a school bus, which in turn ran over a smaller vehicle and crashed into another bus. The pickup driver and a 15-year-old aboard one of the buses were killed in the accident. Records show that the pickup driver had sent or received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes preceding the crash.

“Driving was not his only priority,” said NTSB chairman Deborah Hershman. “No call, no text, no update is worth a human life.”

Despite bans on texting, studies show that the dangerous practice is only getting worse. According to a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, two of every 10 drivers, and half of drivers ages 21 to 24, admit to texting while behind the wheel. And one in every 100 American drivers are either texting, emailing, browsing the Web or using their handheld devices for some other activity, at any given time. Even more troubling: The people only think these activities are dangerous when they see someone else doing it.

Following the announcement of its recommendation, the NTSB has taken to Twitter to emphasize their safety warnings, publishing a flurry of updates: “Turn the portable electronic devices off before turning the car on,” reads one. “Life is far more precious than a phone call or a playlist.” And, “Distraction kills. More than a minivan load of people. Every day.”

What do you think of the NTSB’s decision? Do you think a ban on using all electronic devices in the car is a good idea? Could such a law be enforced? Would anybody follow such a law? Would you?

[Image via Poulsons PhotographyShuttertock]

Showing 24 comments

Shawn Pistole at 12:17am 14th December 2011 yea stick the phone up ur ass and drive i say it at least 1 time a day
Bradford C. Walker at 10:38pm 13th December 2011 They can't enforce the ban. Rules that cannot be enforced do not exist, so this can be safely ignored.
Anders D Junger at 10:12pm 13th December 2011 More reason for "reasonable cause". "oh I thought he was holding his iPod. That's why I stopped him".
cinghoa at 1:01pm 13th December 2011 Until there is a product that will disable all electronics other than the car. this will do nothing. People break driving laws all the time without a second thought. People are too irresponsible to accept that their actions could endanger themselves and others around them. Only when a person is effected by these types of activities will they become aware of the dangers.
smparmenter at 12:44pm 13th December 2011 Maybe driving should be more uncomfortable and more difficult to do. All these GIANT SUV's and Luxury cars are taking the bumps out of the road and eliminating exterior noises, along with all of the other obstacles, i.e. children at play... Drinking and driving is illegal, and people still do it, so who cares if you make it unlawful to operate a personal mobile device? People will still do it... Our only saving grace will be when the cars drive themselves...which I'm sure everyone will have a problem with also...
Sterling Anton at 8:33pm 13th December 2011 What about banning the application of make-up, eating, and having children in the car?
Joe Benton at 8:19pm 13th December 2011 My question is how would they enforce such a thing? Even if you make highways a cell-free zone that wouldn't stop people from using ipads and the like. It's all well and fine you tell people you should pay attention to the road when you drive but it is delusional to think you can stop problems like these with some decree. If you want to solve vehicle accidents, get rid of the driver.
James Phillips at 8:07pm 13th December 2011 Scumbag power hungry bureaucrats like this are the reason I am a libertarian.
Ken Nin at 8:07pm 13th December 2011 Can't fix "Stupid" - just sayin!!!!
Jeremy Steele at 8:06pm 13th December 2011 How about we just ban stupid people from driving? I use my phone while driving, I even text while driving. But I always do it on safe stretches of road, when there's lots of visibility.I also constantly look back up at the road to ensure that I'm not drifting from my lane. If I feel even the least bit unsafe about using my cell phone at any particular time, I just don't do it.Just like guns don't kill people, neither do cell phones. People die as a result of their own stupidity.
johnpacheco at 12:04pm 13th December 2011 In my opinion, I think phones and devices should be programmed to only allow phone calls and updates to mapping software, for example GPS maps, over a certain speed. Preventing people from using hands free devices is foolish, after all we all speak while driving if we are driving with passengers. I know that this kind of distraction has become more prevalent recently, however there have always been distractions, people reading in the car, eating, changing the radio (which they came up with a form of "hands free" by putting controls on the steering wheel) and I'm sure most people don't think of this one, but Bill Boards are very distracting.
Martin DmpstrBaby Jolicoeur at 8:03pm 13th December 2011 are pacemakers personal electronics?
Trevor Whitlock at 11:36am 13th December 2011 So cops are trained and allowed to drive with many electronics... I wonder why they do not do the same to regular drivers(i.e. Proper training) if it would reduce accidents... One way to keep us at bay.
1. TechFreak at 1:54pm 13th December 2011 Great point. Cops have phones, CB and laptops all going while driving.
Realm Zod at 10:40am 13th December 2011 It drives me crazy when mandates are laid down because of a personal incident someone in a position of power has experienced. Just because your family member was idiotic enough to divert their attention on the road doesn't mean the rest of us need to be nannied into safe behavior. I agree that it should be illegal to text while driving but using a hands free is no different than carrying on a conversation with a passenger. Next up: all cars must be equipped with parititions to isolate the driver and their head must be held in place with bolted straps. gah!
1. TechFreak at 10:50am 13th December 2011 Agreed. This is wayyy too extreme. What I would recommend is putting an age limit on cell phone use. No one under the age of 18 or 20 can use their cell phone or electronics while driving. Why? They simply do not have enough experience behind the wheel in the first place to multitask. Let the driver get a couple years of experience too so they know how to drive and pay attention to something else first at least.Thoughts?
  1. Realm Zod at 10:54am 13th December 2011 That seems somewhat reasonable although I might have disagreed when I was 18.
    TechFreak at 11:01am 13th December 2011 lol I totally would when I was 18 too. But I think it makes sense to get more experience behind the wheel before using a phone.Of course the opposite could be true for older people. They need more experience with a cell phone/tech before using it behind the wheel too!
    cinghoa at 1:12pm 13th December 2011 "Of course the opposite could be true for older people. They need more experience with a cell phone/tech before using it behind the wheel too!"Right. Then add to that, I would love to see this country require an actual driving test either once every 10 years, or at a certain age, I'm sure just as many seniors that can't see over their wheel have caused accidents. Some people should definitely not be behind the wheel.
    TechFreak at 1:51pm 13th December 2011 haha I would agree with that. The number of bad drivers out there always blows me away.
  2. johnpacheco at 12:09pm 13th December 2011 I am not sure if experience really prevents people from being distracted, i think maturity and driving smart would be better examples. I drive with some people, older than me, who get distracted very easily, and they have 20+ years of driving experience.
    TechFreak at 1:51pm 13th December 2011 Maybe the exception to the rule? I think a fact would be that someone with 10+ years driving experience can probably handle more/different situations better than 2 years experience.
2. cinghoa at 1:08pm 13th December 2011 Do you not realize that this is not the only incident of its kind? This happens many times a day, fortunately not all are fatal. I don't know about you, but a large portion of Americans have shown that they aren't capable of handling such a demanding task. I'm not saying I want a cop sitting in my car with me, but people really need to get their rumps off of their shoulders and realize that their text/call/email/FB update can wait until they are safely at a stop, preferably parked.
  1. TechFreak at 1:52pm 13th December 2011 "but a large portion of Americans have shown that they aren't capable of handling such a demanding task."It doesn't matter whether they are Americans or not. Most people around the world cannot handle this.