Federal accident investigators recommended states ban the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by all drivers except in emergencies.

The National Transportation Safety Board's recommendation
followed a finding by the board that the initial collision in a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year was caused by the inattention of a 19 year-old-pickup driver who sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes immediately before the accident.

The pickup driver and a 15-year-old student on one of the school buses were killed.

Thirty-eight other people were injured.

The NTSB's recommendation makes an exception for use of phones
and other devices in emergency situations.

The board doesn't have the power to impose regulations, but its recommendations carry significant weight with lawmakers.

"I will not sit in a car where the driver is texting," said Erin Smith of Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, as she rests in a hospital bed at the Nebraska Medical Center.

The new recommendations ring true for the 18-year-old who has been recovering from her injuries after a crash in August 2010.

"Just as any invincible teenager would do -- looked down at my phone -- texted [my boyfriend] back -- then when I looked up I was headed for the ditch."

The car rolled three times.

"I know I'm lucky to be alive. 98% of the people who break the C-2 -- the bone I broke -- die on impact. I thought I looked away for a quick glance -- but quick glances can do lots of damage."

Stop at any intersection and you don't have to look far to see people texting or talking behind the wheel. Many argue all distractions -- from changing the radio to eating -- are dangerous?

"The cellphone distraction is unique among all the other distractions because it's not only a physical distraction but a cognitive one," said Bill Mulherin with the Greater Omaha Chapter of the National Safety Council. "It not only pulls your hands off the road but your brain off the road."

Erin Smith recognizes the irony of the text she wrote when she crashed. It said, "I know right."

"There are many people who say just because it happened to you doesn't mean it will happen to me. They say they're a safe driver when they text. It throws me for a loop every time someone says that."