Cell phones in cars was such a fun topic yesterday, why not stick with it?

Today, the Governors Highway Safety Association jumped into the fray with its own take on cell phones and that Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study that found truck drivers were 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident while texting.

The Governors group - which represents highway safety officials across the nation - says it has never endorsed a complete ban on cell phones in vehicles because of questions about whether such laws are enforceable. The group says Federal transportation officials are planning a demonstration later this year to show how laws can be enforced.

In a statement from the Governor’s group, Chairman Vernon Betkey Jr. said the association’s official cell phone policy hasn’t been reviewed for several years. But with studies like the one at Virginia Tech combined with enforcement techniques, he said: “I expect GHSA would support a total cell phone/texting ban.”

In the meantime, the group has its own recommendations, urging that:

• States ban all non-emergency cell phone use/text messaging for new drivers including teen drivers. The bans for new drivers should be enforced primarily by parents as part of graduated licensing laws. Fourteen states plus D.C. currently have these laws.
• States include a category for cell phone/electronic equipment distraction on crash investigation forms. At least 29 states plus D.C. currently include this information.
• The federal government fund a media campaign to alert the public to the dangers of distracted driving. This effort is needed to help develop a culture that will make the practice socially unacceptable much the same way that drunk driving has become with the vast majority of the public.
• The federal government continue to fund research on distracted driving, particularly the effectiveness of various countermeasures and new technological applications that would limit or eliminate distractions.
• Employers implement policies banning cell phone/texting use by all employees during working hours.