The National Transportations Safety Board has called for a ban on cell phone use for commercial drivers across the United States.

This statement was released as a result of a truck accident in Kentucky. The crash occurred on March 26, 2010, when a truck driver on the Interstate 65 crossed a 65-foot median, went through a cable barrier, and hit a passenger van. The truck driver and 10 of the 12 people in the van were killed. Board investigators discovered that the driver had used his cell phone 69 times while driving, including four calls minutes before the crash.

The Board has broadened their guidelines on the use of cell phones, saying all commercial drivers should be forbidden from using mobiles phones, either hand-held or with hand-free device, except in emergencies, reported The New York Times.

The NTSB has been making recommendations for cell phone use as the rate of cell phone-related incidents involving commercial drivers continued to rise over the years. An accident in 2002 had the Board releasing a statement that banned cell phone use by rookie drivers. In 2004, a bus crash urged the Board to issue that same ban on bus drivers. The Board recommended a cell phone ban on commercial railroad and marine transportation operators after a 2008 collision between two trains in Chatsworth, California, and a 2010 accident involving a barge and amphibious vehicle in Philadelphia.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation has already banned commercial drivers from texting while on the road. Now, it is already considering a ban on the country's 3.7 million commercial drivers from talking on cell phones, according to the report.

"It's just too dangerous," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "It can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds." Secretary LaHood referred to such trucks as "80,000-pound unguided missiles."

"Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell phone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk," said Secretary LaHood in the DOT Web site. "This proposed rule will go a long way toward keeping a driver's full attention focused on the road."

Deborah A. P. Hersman, Chairwoman of the safety board echoes the same sentiments.

"Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent, exacerbating the danger we encounter daily on our roadways," said Hersman.

The American Trucking Associations expressed its agreement with the Board's recommendations.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Boyd Stephenson, the group's manager of safety operations.

In 2009, the group recommended the formulation of a legislative or regulatory ban on texting for all drivers. In February this year, it also recommended that all hand-held phones be banned for all drivers, including truck drivers. The group has not recommended a ban on phones with hands-free devices, said the New York Times.

Secretary La Hood adds that there should be a federal law banning cell phone use for all drivers.

"The National Transportation Safety Board can speak with a loud voice, and we're very happy to have them on board."