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"Safety Group Calls for Teen-Driver Cell-Phone Ban   The National Transportation Safety Board urged states to adopt laws to prohibit cell-phone use by young drivers, The Detroit News reported.   The call came after the safety group investigated a 2002 crash involving an SUV and minivan that killed five people on the Beltway outside Washington, D.C. when the 20-year-old driver of a 1990 Ford Explorer lost control of her SUV while talking on a cell phone, the story said. The SUV crossed over a highway median and rolled over, landing on top of a minivan. Four people in the minivan were killed as well as the SUV driver.   However, NTSB chairman Ellen Engleman said there was too little data to blame the cell-phone use as the primary cause of the Maryland crash. She said more research is needed before the agency would recommend banning cell-phone use by motor vehicle drivers.   &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s definitely a distraction for drivers,&amp;quot; Engleman said of cell-phone use. &amp;quot;Education will be key to helping people understand they can be dangerous if improperly used.&amp;quot;   Sen. Jud Gilbert, a Michigan Republican who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said he would look at the board&amp;#039;s suggestion, although he said cell-phone use is just one of the many distractions faced by drivers, the News reported. &amp;quot;I always found it hard to make the argument that cell phones were worse than eating a McDonald&amp;#039;s hamburger or drinking a Coke,&amp;quot; he said.   The board also said that the federal government should consider mandating an anti-rollover safety system in all passenger vehicles.   California Legislators Try to Break SUV Habit   California lawmakers are attempting to wean the state from its fascination with sport-utility vehicles by example, The Detroit News reports.   The state&amp;#039;s Democratic-controlled Senate Rules Committee said it plans to stop buying sport-utility vehicles for its fleet. Nearly half of the Senate&amp;#039;s 57 vehicles are SUVs.   Meanwhile, the California Assembly, the other half of the state&amp;#039;s legislature, began offering an additional $10,000 for office expenses to lawmakers who trade their SUVs for hybrid gas-electric powered vehicles.   Nearly half of the state&amp;#039;s legislators \u2014 54 of 120 \u2014 drive SUVs, the News said.   &amp;quot;We need to lead by example and we will use whatever bully pulpit we have,&amp;quot; said John Waldie, the California Assembly&amp;#039;s chief administrative officer (who drives a Ford Expedition). &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s time to reduce emissions in California because Lord knows we have more smog than just about anywhere else.&amp;quot;   Ford Weighs In With More Discounts   followed General Motors and by announcing a new round of incentives, The Associated Press reported.   Ford&amp;#039;s latest program \u2014 which is much the same as its previous one, which just expired \u2014 offers interest-free loans for up to five years on a variety of vehicles, including the Taurus, Explorer and some F-150 pickups.   Ford is also offering $2,500 cash back on the Taurus and $3,000 cash back on other vehicles eligible for interest-free loans. The company also will match down payments of up to $1,000 on the Taurus and will continue to offer its $5-a-day-lease promotion for the Mustang and Ranger pickup until its 100th birthday June 16.   The remainder of the program runs through July 9. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a9892/safety-group-calls-for-teen-driver-cell-phone-ban/>