WASHINGTON - US safety investigators called on Tuesday for a nationwide ban on texting and cell phone use while driving, a prohibition that would include certain applications of hands-free technology becoming more common in new cars.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommendation covers portable devices only but still goes beyond measures proposed or imposed to date by regulators and states, most of which already ban texting while behind the wheel.

"When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it's a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "No emails, no texts, no calls. It's worth a human life."

More than 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in the United States in 2010, according to Transportation Department figures.

Most motorists participating in a Transportation Department survey released last week acknowledged few situations in which they would not use a cell phone or text while behind the wheel although they supported measures to curb the practice.

The five-member NTSB recommendation to states for a ban, except in an emergency, stemmed from an investigation of a Missouri chain-reaction crash that killed two people last year, an accident blamed on a driver who was texting.

The panel's action follows nearly 10 years of investigating transportation accidents linked in some way to distraction and is not binding. But the safety board has long been effective at articulating national transportation safety priorities and its views can be influential in legislative or regulatory decisionmaking.

Congress has shown no interest in banning cell phone use or texting while driving. So far 35 states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving, but fewer than a dozen prohibit using a cell phone.