The Department of Transportation says 5,870 people — 16% of all highway fatalities — died in distracted-driving crashes and 515,000 were injured in 2008.

23 states are currently debating legislation to ban texting while driving, a practice 19 states already prohibit.

It is expected that a dozen or more new texting laws will get pass this year. One senator has gone as far as introducing a federal legislation to ban texting or emailing while driving. States that didn’t go along would risk losing 25% of their federal highway funds.