Pennsylvania lawmakers should pass a recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board regarding cell phone use by novice drivers. The NTSB voted last week to add to its annual list of "Most Wanted Safety Recommendations to States" a ban on novice drivers using any wireless communication devices.

New drivers in particular must - although all drivers should - focus their full attention on the road. While it would be appropriate for the commonwealth to prohibit all drivers from using cell phones or any other communication devices while behind the wheel, it is especially fitting regarding those with "junior" licenses.

It is generally more difficult for a new driver to successfully recover from a mistake or lapse in attention than a driver who has much more experience behind the wheel.

Mark Rosenker, NTSB acting chairman, was right in observing that learning how to drive while distracted is a recipe for disaster.

However, the transportation board does not have the power to put that rule in effect. Its power is limited to making recommendations, although board members and the agency's staff often are successful in personally lobbying for changes that the board considers most important.

It is to be hoped that lobbying in regard to the cell phone issue involving young drivers is stepped up in this state. Eleven other states and the District of Columbia currently restrict cell phone use among novice drivers; Pennsylvania shouldn't hesitate to become the next to adopt the restriction.

Many people regard as "scary" the facial expressions of some drivers using cell phones. Those expressions depict a situation in which those drivers are physically behind the wheel, but their attention and concentration are miles away.

Add driver inexperience to that dangerous scenario and a formula for serious injury or death is in place.

According to the NTSB, teenagers account for 14.3 percent of accidents nationwide but only 6.4 percent of the driving population. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers, who make up the vast majority of new drivers.

With such realities in place, it is not wrong for a hands-off-the-cell-phone rule to apply to "junior" drivers. For Pennsylvania lawmakers, it is a rule that legislators can feel comfortable debating and passing in the light of day, not wait until 2 a.m. to enact.

This is the kind of rule that should not require a threatened loss of federal highway money if it is not implemented by an established deadline. It's an issue of common sense that merits expeditious handling.

Cell phones are an excellent communication device used in the right way. They weren't meant to be a "ticket" to the emergency room or morgue.