Distracted Driving becomes a major talking point

While car companies are working to develop technology to keep drivers connected on the road, they are also

conscious of the risks of distracted driving. Ford, for instance, is running the "Driving Skills for Life" program, which encourages kids to drive safely, and BMW recently launched a series of advertisements – "Don't Txt & Drive" – bent on illustrating the dangers of distractions on the road, the Times Union of the Lake Champlain region of New York reported.

Government agencies are searching for ways to ban the use of distracting technology in vehicles, but industry officials believe that this is a lost cause because people have become too dependent on their devices.

"I'm not in the business of helping people 'tweet' better," David Strickland, the head of the NHTSA, said at a national conference in June, the news source reports.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted studies in Canada and Australia to determine the link between phone usage and car accidents, as American billing records are not publicly available. The results indicate that not only did cellphone use increase the risk of injury crashes, but it also made little difference whether drivers were using hands-free devices or not.

Until any decisions are reached, drivers would be wise to purchase car warranties that could cover the cost of any repairs should they be involved in an accident.