>>> will it make the road safer? the national transportation system says they want all 50 states to ban all personal electronic devices for drivers. nbc's tom costello has details for us this morning. good morning.
>> reporter: good morning to you. the ntsb does not have any regulatory authority but as the nation's leading safety investigative body, when it talks, people listen, including lawmakers. and the ntsb wants the country to take distracted driving as seriously as it takes drinking while driving. so many families have been touched by distracted driving. 13-year-old marga skee killed when her school bus was rear-ended by a truck driver . somehow her i.d. survived.
>> i don't understand how this little plastic card came off that bus. but marga did not.
>> reporter: after this 17-year-old was hit and killed by a distracted driver, utah adopted some of the toughest distracted driver laws in the country.
>> i'll never have anybody call me mom again. she was my only child.
>> reporter: and then there was reggie shaw.
>> when i left that morning, it was definitely not my intention to hurt or harm anyone.
>> reporter: in 2006 , he crossed the yellow line while texting, killing two men on their way to work.
>> i thought it was something that i could do. that i could drive down the road and send a text message and be safe.
>> reporter: now, after yet another chain reaction fatal crash in missouri caused by a distracted teenage driver, the ntsb is making a dramatic recommendation. urging all 50 states and d.c. to ban the use of all portable electronic devices for all drivers. an exception would only be made for emergencies and gps units. but not for hands-free devices.
>> we know that this recommendation is going to be very unpopular with some people. but we're not here to win a popularity contest. we're here to do the right thing.
>> reporter: currently, 35 states and d.c. ban texting while driving. ten states and d.c. ban handheld devices . with new government stats for 2010 showing, there are 3,092 fatalities as a result of distracted driving last year. meanwhile, roughly 20% of all drivers, and 50% of drivers between 21 and 24 years of age admit to having texted while driving. but a total ban on all devices?
>> i think hands-free devices are perfectly okay.
>> i think it's really good if it's going to save at least one life, it's worth it.
>> i don't think it will be effective. people will just do whatever they want anyway.
>> no e-mail. no text. no updates. no calls. it's worth a human life .
>> reporter: the ntsb says it wants to ban both handheld and hands-free devices because studies prove that people on hands-free devices can often be just as distracted. ann, a lot of civil libertarians here think this is going way too far. and while a total ban really may not happen, it could put pressure on corporations and insurance companies to create new rules for their employees and maybe even their policyholders. back to you.
>> all right. tom costello. to be continued. thank you so
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45666321/
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