June 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. states should pass laws limiting cellular-phone use by young drivers, a federal agency said after investigating a Washington, D.C.-area fatal accident involving a sport-utility vehicle driven by a 20-year-old woman.

The National Transportation Safety Board said distraction from cell-phone use, the driver's inexperience and her unfamiliarity with the 1998 Ford Motor Co. Explorer she had bought earlier in the day probably caused the Feb. 1, 2002, accident near Largo, Maryland. Five people died in the crash.

The board wants states to block use of cell phones by young drivers with learner's permits or licenses that limit the hours they can be on the road. At least 37 states have considered legislation to limit cell-phone use while driving. New York has such a law, though it doesn't have age-specific provisions.

``While young drivers account for just 7 percent of the driving population, they are involved in 15 percent of fatal accidents,'' said NTSB Chairwoman Ellen Engleman. ``We want to address that high-risk category as soon as possible.''

More than half of U.S. resident subscribe to cell-phone services.

``The NTSB recommends what the wireless industry has been working on for years - educating drivers on the range of distractions they face behind the wheel,'' said Kim Kuo, spokeswoman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association trade group. ``Various studies have shown that basic tasks like eating and drinking or changing the radio are more distracting than using a wireless phone.''

Distracted Driving

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that all forms of distracted driving account for 20 percent to 30 percent of the nation's crashes and can reduce the attentiveness of drivers by about 15 percent.

In the accident cited by the board, the woman's Explorer was traveling as fast as 75 miles per hour, 20 mph above the limit, on the Washington area's Capital Beltway when the vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic, flipped over and crushed a Ford Windstar minivan, the board said. The Explorer driver, who the board didn't identify, and four people in the minivan were killed.

NTSB investigator Joseph Osterman said simulations done by the agency showed that an experienced driver could have kept control of the sport-utility.

The NTSB urged the traffic-safety agency to further study the role of distracted driving in accidents, including the extent to which cell-phone use contributes. The board also recommended a nationwide advertising campaign on the danger of distracted driving, and wider use of electronic stability-control devices designed to prevent rollover accidents.

``We have come to the conclusion that cell phones should not be used when you're driving,'' said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Rae Tyson, whose agency has studied driver distractions for at least six years. ``There is a potential for distraction at the wrong moment, whether the device is hands-held or hands-free.''

An American Automobile Association survey in 2001 found 1.5 of every 100 driver distractions were caused by cell-phone conversations. Distractions from outside the vehicle such as another car, and activities inside such as tuning a radio or talking to others caused more lapses in awareness, the group said.

Rail Accident

The safety board also recommended a U.S. ban on cell-phone use by train crews, after a separate investigation of a May 28, 2002, head-on collision of two Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. trains that killed one worker.

The engineer of a coal train operating near Clarendon, Texas, was talking on a cell phone and didn't act on orders to stop on a sidetrack so another train carrying cargo containers and truck trailers could pass, investigator Ron Hynes said. The engineer of the cargo-container train died in the crash.

Last Updated: June 3, 2003 14:18 EDT