A Michigan State Senate committee is hearing testimony today from proponents and opponents of a bill that would ban the use of cell phones by probationary drivers. Chief among the bill's supporters is the mother of a teenager who died about two years ago in an accident. The 17-year-old was talking on her cell phone as she attempted to pass another car. She hit an SUV head-on.

The bill would make it a secondary offense for probationary drivers -- most are 16- and 17-year-olds -- to talk on the cell phone while driving. If it were a primary offense, officers could stop a driver who is talking on his phone. With a secondary offense, a driver must be pulled over for a different, primary offense or in an accident before an officer can write a ticket.

Research has shown that young drivers talking on cell phones are at a much higher risk for being in a crash than older, more experienced drivers. According to MLive Media Group, out of every five drivers involved in a crash caused by or related to cell phone use, one was a teenager.

It is illegal (and a primary offense) for any driver in Michigan to text while behind the wheel. The ban has its critics, though. They say there have been very few citations issued in the two years since the law went into effect, and that raises questions about enforcement.

Other states have produced research showing that texting bans and cell phone bans aren't effective because drivers just don't comply.

For the 17-year-old's mom, though, the cell phone ban for novice drivers would be a fitting legacy for her daughter.

Source: MLive.com, "Michigan Senate hearing today on banning cell phone use by teen drivers," Aaron Aupperlee, Feb. 21, 2012