Distracted driving a "menace to society"

On USA Today. Excerpt:

The panel of government officials, safety advocates, researchers and lawmakers hoped to develop a consensus on the roadway hazards and hear warnings from young adults who caused car accidents because they were texting while driving.

The new data underscored the major problem of distractions involving young drivers. The greatest proportion of distracted drivers were those age 20 and under. Sixteen percent of all under-20 drivers involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving, the government said.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws making texting while driving illegal and seven states and the District have banned driving while talking on a handheld cellphone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Many safety groups have urged a nationwide ban on texting and on using handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.

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Read Bob Barr's opinion in the AJC here.