Saying distracted driving should become as socially unacceptable as drunken driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday announced several measures to fight it, including banning federal employees from text messaging while driving.

The Department of Transportation also will seek to restrict use of cell phones and other electronic devices by subway and train operators; ban text messaging and restrict the use of cell phones by truck and interstate bus drivers; and disqualify school bus drivers convicted of texting while driving from keeping their commercial driver's licenses, Mr. LaHood said at the end of a two-day distracted driving summit in Washington.

He called for new laws at the state and local levels, along with public awareness campaigns and high-visibility enforcement actions.

After a year of public education and enforcement, texting while driving "should feel wrong, just like driving without a seat belt and driving while intoxicated," Mr. LaHood said.

He said President Barack Obama signed an order Wednesday night banning federal employees from text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or while driving privately owned vehicles while on official government business.

"This order sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable," Mr. LaHood said.

The actions drew praise from AAA, a national citizens highway safety organization and the wireless industry.

"What he called for is exactly what's required: a combination of legislation, education, enforcement and research," said Brian Newbacher, public affairs director for AAA East Central.

AAA is promoting a week of distraction-free driving starting Monday called "Heads Up Driving Week" in which motorists are asked to refrain from cell phone use, eating, reading and grooming while behind the wheel.

"The president's order and the secretary's actions represent important first steps toward reducing distracted driving on our roads," said Jackie Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

Her group recently petitioned the Department of Transportation for rules restricting a wide array of electronic devices used by commercial drivers, saying "there is convincing and compelling research that wireless electronic devices dramatically increase the risk of truck and bus crashes."

Mr. Obama's order banning behind-the-wheel texting by federal employees "helps to set a standard for responsible driving that can save lives and should be emulated by other motorists," Ms. Gillan said.

Steve Largent, the former congressman and NFL star who now heads CTIA-The Wireless Association, the leading industry group, said the industry "remains committed to educating all drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. We support state and local legislation that would ban texting for all drivers and place wireless use restrictions on teens and novice drivers.

"While state and local legislation is a part of the solution, education is key to trying to end distracted driving. We also agree with Secretary LaHood that personal responsibility is important and every single person needs to be aware about the serious dangers and possible consequences of texting and driving."

The summit brought together some 300 safety experts, researchers, industry representatives, elected officials and citizens who shared their expertise, experiences and ideas for reducing distracted driving, Mr. LaHood said.

The Department of Transportation reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes where at least one form of driver distraction was reported. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes last year and was prevalent among young drivers.

Eighteen states have banned texting while driving and another nine have applied the ban only to novice or junior drivers. Six states -- California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington -- and the District of Columbia prohibit all hand-held cell phone use by drivers.

Pennsylvania has no statewide restrictions on cell phone use while driving. The state Senate in July passed a ban on texting while driving, but the measure hasn't advanced in the House.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said support was building in Congress to ban text messaging by drivers nationwide. Their legislation would require states to ban texting or e-mailing while operating a vehicle or lose 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding.

While several studies have found that cell phone use increases the risk of crashes, there is disagreement over the degree of danger.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's 2002-04 study of crash victims in Perth, Australia, found that cell phone use by a driver multiplied the risk of crashes with injuries by four times. The institute wanted to do the study in the U.S. but could not gain access to drivers' cell phone records.

A report released in July by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, based on actual observations of car and truck drivers, said text messaging by truckers made crashes 23 times more likely, but that simply conversing on the phone did not significantly endanger car or truck drivers.

Dialing a cell phone did, however, make a crash 2.8 times more likely, the researchers said.

They concluded that the danger of cell phone use was limited to behaviors that involved looking away from the road.

As the summit concluded yesterday, Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization with 20,000 businesses as members, urged lawmakers, employers and parents to ban all cell phone use while driving.

Texting bans are not enough "because they do not address the leading cause of distraction-related crashes: phone conversations," she said. Hands-free devices are not safer because drivers are still distracted by dialing and by the conversation, she said.

Ms. Froetscher said more than 500 business members of the safety council have banned all phone use by employees who are driving.

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