States should prohibit inexperienced drivers from using cell phones behind the wheel, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

And Kansas University professor Paul Atchley couldn’t agree more.

“It’s certainly a good start,” said Atchley, an assistant professor of psychology at Kansas University. “It’s recognizing there is a problem with drivers using cell phones. And the newest drivers are definitely the most dangerous on the road.”

Atchley has completed studies on drivers and cell phone use for several years. His research has concluded it’s the mental side of the conversation — and not the physical part of holding onto a phone — that leads to accidents.

New Jersey and Maine have passed laws prohibiting those with learner’s permits from using cell phones or other wireless devices while driving.

In one of the highest profile decisions on the issue, the NTSB said Tuesday it wanted the 48 other states to adopt similar laws, although it couldn’t mandate the change.

“We think that inexperienced drivers should do nothing more than concentrate on the driving task,” said Joseph Osterman, director of the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety.

The Governors Highway Safety Assn., which represents state safety officials, said it supported the board’s recommendation.

Spokesman Jonathan Adkins said the association has been urging states to ban cell phone use among inexperienced drivers for two years. But Adkins said the group didn’t support a ban for all drivers.

Board chairwoman Ellen Engleman said the NTSB didn’t know enough about cell phone distraction to recommend a ban.

“We don’t want to be simplistic and do a knee-jerk reaction saying cell phones are all bad,” she said. “We need to find out facts and not come to a conclusion too fast.”

But she did say it was critical to alert drivers to the problems caused by distractions. According to an NTSB report presented Tuesday, drivers who are distracted will respond up to 1.5 seconds later to a hazard on the road.

A study released last year estimated that about one in 20 U.S. traffic accidents involves a driver talking on a cell phone.

Though the study’s data were incomplete, the research from the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis suggested that drivers talking on their phones were responsible for about 6 percent of U.S. auto accidents each year, killing an estimated 2,600 people and injuring 330,000 others.

Despite that data, Atchley said two factors would make passing laws banning cell phone use difficult. First, he said, the cell phone industry would lobby against a ban. One industry insider told him 80 percent of his company’s on-air minutes were in vehicles.

“If that was to be restricted, they’d be losing money,” he said.

And public perception will make passing laws banning cell phone use difficult. Many people simply don’t see cell phones as dangerous, he said.

“Drunk driving was an issue from the creation of vehicles,” he said. “It wasn’t until the ’80s that we saw increased laws for punishment. Whether today’s information technology will make that process faster, I don’t know. But more people are buying cell phones, and they’re getting longer calling plans, so if you think they’re a risk — and in my opinion, they are — there are going to be more accidents.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.