Washington ? In an effort to track accidents caused by cell phone use, federal highway officials are encouraging states to report when crashes are caused by distracted drivers.

Under new guidelines issued Tuesday, police are being asked to say whether the driver was distracted and whether that distraction was caused by a cell phone, a radio, another passenger, another vehicle or something else.

Almost all states use some form of the voluntary crash reporting guidelines, which were first issued five years ago to help standardize crash reports so it’s easier to compare data from state to state.