Washington ( CNN ) -- A federal safety board called Tuesday for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving . The recommendation is the most far-reaching yet by the National Transportation Safety Board , which in the past 10 years has increasingly sought to limit the use of portable electronic devices -- recommending bans for novice drivers , school bus drivers and commercial truckers . Tuesday 's recommendation , if adopted by states , would outlaw non-emergency phone calls and texting by operators of every vehicle on the road . It would apply to hands-free as well as hand-held devices , but devices installed in the vehicle by the manufacturer would be allowed , the NTSB said . The recommendation would not affect passengers ' rights to use such devices . Study : Distracted drivers in denial . NTSB members say the action is necessary to combat a growing threat posed by distracted drivers . While distracted driving has been a problem `` since the Model T , '' in the words of NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman , authorities say it has become ubiquitous with the explosion in the number of portable smart phones . At any given daylight moment , some 13.5 million drivers are on hand-held phones , according to a study released last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration . Some 3,092 roadway fatalities last year involved distracted drivers , although the actual number may be far higher , NHTSA said . `` This ( distracted driving ) is becoming the new DUI . It 's becoming epidemic , '' said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt . Accident investigators routinely seek protective orders to preserve smart phones for use as evidence in accident investigations , Hersman said . But because distracted drivers sometimes do not own up to their actions , or because they die during the crash , determining whether distraction was a factor in an accident can be difficult . That was the case in a 2010 chain-reaction accident near Gray Summit , Missouri . During the 11 minutes prior to that incident , the driver of a pickup truck received five text messages , and sent six , and he was seen leaning over just before the accident , leading investigators to believe the driver was likely distracted when his truck plowed at 55 mph into the rear of a tractor trailer , which had slowed or stopped because of a highway work zone . Two school buses then plowed into the wreckage . Two people -- including the pickup truck driver and a bus occupant -- were killed ; 38 other people were injured . The driver of the pickup truck was 19 years old , and was in violation of a Missouri law prohibiting drivers under the age of 21 from texting while driving . But the safety board focused little on the age of the driver , casting `` distracted driving '' as epidemic among people of all ages . Time : How dangerous is it , really ? The NTSB said cell phone laws alone would not solve the problem , but must be accompanied by aggressive educational campaigns and strict enforcement . The Missouri State Highway Patrol had issued only 120 citations for texting in a two-year-period , the NTSB said . Currently , a patchwork of laws governs cell-phone usage by drivers . Some 35 states ban text messaging while driving , 30 states ban cell-phone use by novice drivers , and 10 ban all use of hand-held cell phones , according to the NTSB . The safety board also recommended the electronics industry develop phones that would discourage their use by drivers , but could identify a car occupant 's location so that passengers could use the devices . A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study of commercial drivers found that a safety-critical event is 163 times more likely if a driver is texting , e-mailing or accessing the Internet . The NTSB 's action is a recommendation only , but the board has been instrumental in leading for changes in other areas of transportation safety . Chairwoman Hersman said the ban may inconvenience motorists , but would save lives . `` Needless lives are lost on our highways , and for what ? Convenience ? Death is n't convenient , '' Hersman said . `` So we can stay more connected ? A fatal accident severs that connection . '' The NTSB 's investigation of the August 5 , 2010 , Missouri crash also exposed numerous other safety shortcomings . Although Missouri requires school bus inspections twice a year -- one by the highway patrol and a second by a certified inspection station -- an inspection 10 days before the accident did not reveal faulty brakes on one of the buses , the NTSB said . The faulty brakes were not a factor in the accident , the NTSB said , because the driver said she did not hit the brakes before the crash . But the NTSB criticized the service station that inspected the brakes , the contract owner of the school buses , and the highway patrol . The highway patrol gave the bus company a `` Total Fleet Maintenance Award '' before the accident because 100 % of its buses had passed inspection . In an unannounced inspection following the tragedy , the pass rate dropped to 60 % , the NTSB said . The NTSB said both the inspection station and the highway patrol performed inadequate inspections . Read featured comments from this story .
NTSB has been trying to limit the use of portable electronic devices in vehicles . The recommendation for a total ban includes hands-free devices . Study : At any given daylight moment , 13.5 million drivers are on hand-held phones . Some 3,092 roadway fatalities last year involved distracted drivers .