The movement to stop drivers from texting has picked up momentum this week with President Obama’s executive order banning texting by federal employees who are driving.

The ban covers employees using government-supplied phones and cars - and also personal phones and cars if government business is being conducted, according to the New York Times. The article says a separate ban is expected soon for bus drivers and truckers who travel across state lines.

The executive order, announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, came at the conclusion of a summit on distracted driving and affects 4.5 million federal employees, including military personnel.

“This meeting is probably the most important meeting in the history of the Department of Transportation,” Mr. LaHood said at the end of the two-day conference. He added that the order to restrict text messaging by federal employees behind the wheel “sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable.”