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Do You Ignore Your Phone While Driving?

Just put it in the cupholder.
Michael Smith
/
Getty Images
Just put it in the cupholder.

"No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life."

That's the message from the National Transportation Safety Board, which today recommended that states "ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices (other than those designed to support the driving task) for all drivers."

That means put the phone down and leave it there.

According to The Associated Press, "while the NTSB doesn't have the power to impose restrictions, it's recommendations carry significant weight with federal regulators and congressional and state lawmakers."

There has been an enormous amount of publicity in recent years about the dangers of distracted driving and in particular about the dangers of talking or texting while behind the wheel.

We've asked this sort of question before, but wonder if the results might be any different this time:

(That's not a scientific survey. It's a question meant to provoke discussion.)

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.