The government linked driver distraction to more than three thousand deaths in twenty-ten. Those represented about nine percent of all road deaths that year.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The experts at the National Transportation Safety Board can make any recommendations they wish. But the Department of Transportation does not have to follow them. Aaron Bragman is an automotive analyst in Detroit, Michigan. He notes that the department has decided for now to further study the issue of distracted driving.

AARON BRAGMAN: "The NTSB's declaration is just basically a recommendation. It really doesn't have any kind of binding legal status it and really doesn't force anybody to do anything. The statement specifically from the NTSB has basically been almost universally rejected as simply illogical and impossible and something that really couldn't even be enforced.”

Mr. Bragman points out that automakers keep making it easier for drivers to do other things while they drive.

AARON BRAGMAN: "Increasingly we're seeing a lot of these new cars are already coming with hands-free devices. It's an increasing trend that we're seeing across the industry and it's not happening in just expensive cars. It's actually helping to improve sales.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Cars and trucks are not the only vehicles where phones and other devices can cause distractions. The NTSB points to accidents like a train crash in California in two thousand eight. One of the engineers was texting and ran through a red signal and into another train. That crash killed twenty-five people.