The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a National Distracted Driving Summit will be held in Washington, D.C. in September, as the federal government continues the push to get states to enact distracted driving laws.

Authorities believe fewer car accidents in New York and New Jersey are at least partly the result of distracted driving laws aimed at motorists who use cell phones to text message while behind the wheel.

Recently, the New York Times reported that a lobbyist organization had dropped plans to form a lobbying group of cell phone companies, mobile device makers and automobile manufacturers that would have fought state and federal laws aimed at preventing motorists from using cell phones or text messaging while driving.

New York and New Jersey are two of just eight states that have outlawed hand-held cell phone use while driving, according to the Governor's Highway Safety Association. The other states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington.

Thirty states have banned drivers from text messaging -- eleven of those laws have been passed this year. Twenty-eight states ban all cell phone use by novice drivers; 18 states forbid bus drivers from using a cell phone while carrying passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 6,000 people a year are killed in car accidents caused by distracted driving and more than 500,000 are injured. Only drunk driving and speeding are blamed for more serious and fatal accidents.

However, the patchwork of state laws is leading to much confusion. For instance, travelers to the New York area are often ignorant of the law. And many large cities have separate laws banning cell phones that are otherwise legal in the rest of the state.

The federal government is encouraging all states to enact a text messaging ban for drivers and many expect the next move will be to link such bans to highway funding -- the same inducement used to bring states into uniform compliance when it comes to enforcement of drunk driving laws, speeding and seat belt use.

"Working together, we can put an end to the thousands of needless deaths and injuries caused by distracted driving each year," said Secretary LaHood. "By getting the best minds together, I believe we can figure out how to get people to put down their phones and pay attention to the road."