Distracted Driving Takes Heavy Toll On U.S. Roads

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Last year, 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 injured in vehicle crashes caused by such driver distractions as talking on cell phones or texting, according to a U.S. Transportation Department report released Wednesday.

The document, which noted that driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008, was introduced prior to the start of meeting of experts who'll spend two days discussing distracted driving, the Associated Press reported.

At the end of the meeting Thursday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is expected to announce recommendations that could lead to new laws and other ways to reduce distracted driving.

"You see people texting and driving and using cell phones and driving everywhere you go, even in places where it's outlawed, like Washington, D.C. We feel a very strong obligation to point to incidents where people have been killed or where serious injury has occurred," LaHood said, the AP reported.