On Wednesday we heard from NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman about a recommendation by the U.S. Safety Board for a national ban on cell phone use while driving. The recommendation states that all states should ban cell phone use for drivers. We got a lot of listener response to the segment. We asked two listeners to join us on the show to talk about their reactions.

The National Transportation Safety Board released recommendations on Tuesday for a national ban on cellphone use while driving. The ban would also urge states to prevent drivers from using hand-held devices. It is said to be one of the most far-reaching efforts to date. "Every year, new devices are being released," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. "People are tempted to update their Facebook page, they are tempted to tweet, as if sitting at a desk. But they are driving a car."

In December 2007, A.J. Larson, 20, was behind the wheel of his car, texting his girlfriend, when he accidentally drove through a stop sign and was struck by a garbage truck. Larson was killed in the accident.

According to a Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association report roughly two trillion text messages were sent in the U.S. last year; that figure nearly doubles the number reported in 2009. In the past few weeks, texting drivers have caused deaths in Michigan, California, and Georgia, and to date, 33 states have outlawed texting while driving. The Takeaway asks whether text messaging really is as dangerous as critics say, and if so, is outlawing texting while driving the best solution?

Yesterday, we asked our listeners via text and on Facebook some questions about texting and driving: Critics say texting while driving is deadly. Oprah is asking people to sign a "No Phone Zone Pledge," a promise not to text while driving. Is it as dangerous as some people say? Can you offer a solution? Do you do it? Be honest!

We received a good number of responses, representing communities from Palm Beach Fla. to Tacoma, Wash., displaying a broad spectrum of opinion and behavior. So we put them into a map. 

The typical U.S. teenager sends 3,500 text messages a month on portable digital devices, and American children send eight texts for every phone call they make or receive. This same generation grew up with Furbies and other robotic friends. While all this technology might seem harmless or even beneficial to the masses, Sherry Turkle argues that it carries risks. Sherry is an MIT professor and clinical psychologist, as well as the author of a new book is called “Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other.”

Why isn't there a better way to text while driving? That’s a question that Joel Johnson, editor at large of Gizmodo.com asked in a recent column.

So far, he’s received over 500 responses to his column, most of which suggest that people who text and drive should simply give it up, use the phone instead, or die behind the wheel because they deserve to. However, Johnson insists that, in a world where most people text and drive, his question is valid. If we can't stop it, why not make it safer?

What do you think? Should texting while driving be outlawed or be made safer?

Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood criticized a Washington lobbying firm that was drumming up opposition to his distracted driving campaign. The Seward Square Group created the DRIVE coalition to promote driver education as an alternative to LaHood's proposal, which would lead to poor sales for mobile devices (they even went after Oprah).

New Hampshire is thinking about upgrading its 911 system to include other digital data. Under the new system, you wouldn’t simply call 911 — you would upload to 911.gov or something like that. You could transmit pictures of your deployed airbag from your very own traffic accident. You could send text messages. Instead of LOL it could be BAO (burning all over) or BOB (burning out back).

In Detroit, Mich., a local problem is gaining city-wide attention thanks to the help of some creative reporting and social networking tools. In the city's southwestern neighborhood, known as "Mexicantown," large tractor-trailer trucks take shortcuts down residential blocks, causing property damage and possibly health concerns. 

We here at The Takeaway are always looking to connect with local communities. So this week we're hosting a summit with our friends at WLRN in Miami that's made possible by the Knight Foundation. We're experimenting to see how we can use text messaging as a tool for uncovering local issues that matter in Little Haiti, Miami. Can it help journalists and the communities they cover tell more compelling stories?

Simply walking around a neighborhood sounds like an easy thing to do. It's an invaluable tool for a journalist covering a local community. But it happens so rarely.

Jim here in Miami for a two-day summit we're holding on developing new sources through texting.

We've been excited about adding texting as one more way people can interact with us at the show. Now we're experimenting with ways to take that further and develop stories directly from a local community using mobile phones.

Our first stop this morning is Little Haiti, where we'll be speaking with community leaders —and anyone we stumble across — to look for stories that we can try out in the real world.

Stay tuned for updates and let us know your thoughts here!

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The hot topic on our show and across the country this week was "Driving While Distracted." Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said almost 6,000 deaths last year were connected to driver distraction. They proposed some solutions, including a push for states to pass their own laws. You’ve been sending us your own ideas on this problem, which we cover this morning.

One listener, Anthony from Watchung, N.J., emailed us to say: “There is a BlackBerry application called "Color ID" which flashes a sequence of colors. I use this for important people who send messages. If it's cyan and purple, I know I need to check the message right away and look for a safe place to do so. Otherwise, I ignore the message.”

Yesterday we asked how often people do things like texting and talking on the phone while driving. Listeners weighed in all day, suggesting solutions to combat DWD ("Driving While Distracted") and responding to 19-year-old Alicia Jones, who admitted on the air yesterday to texting while driving.

Taking a phone call during a date is one thing. But is it okay to write a text message? What about emailing, or tweeting? Kate Dailey, writer of Newsweek's Human Condition Blog, thinks it's okay. But her friend Steve Calachman hates it.