The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) is calling on the provinces to prevent novice drivers from using electronic devices while driving.

The association wants drivers in graduated licensing programs (GDLs) to master their driving abilities first, CAA President David Flewelling told a news conference Wednesday.

"This restriction is not an effort to 'punish' novice drivers -- rather, this is a measure to help them master their driving skills, while reducing distractions," Flewelling told reporters.

"Novice drivers are subject to many restrictions as they learn to drive, such as not driving on four-lane highways and not driving during certain hours. By also restricting the use of electronic devices, such as cellphones, MP3 players and wireless hand-held devices, they can truly focus on the driving task."

CAA says the move is based on an effort to educate drivers on the dangers of distractions.

"It is also our hope that a preventative measure like this one will create a generation of motorists who recognize the severe implications of driver distractions -- and work towards reducing them where they can," Flewelling said.

The initiative is part of a larger campaign against driver distraction and the CAA is asking the public to heed their suggestions:

• Experienced motorists and their passengers can reduce driver distractions through modified behaviours;
• Employers can implement policies and awareness programs in the workplace that reduce distractions for their workforce; and
• Automobile manufacturers and after-market technology developers can focus more effort on research and development to reduce sources of driver distractions in vehicles.

In April 2006, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claimed that distractions are responsible for as many as eight out of ten crashes.

Research has also shown a direct connection between cellphone use and bad driving. Deanna Singhac, of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, told CTV News that even hands-free devices can be distracting.

"They're finding that hands-free units can be just as distracting as hand-held and the issue there is cognitive distraction -- so the distraction associated with conversation, information processing."

Last week, Montreal police were trying to determine if a driver was distracted on his cellphone when he struck and killed an eight-year-old boy in his St. Henri neighbourhood.

An SUV struck Kevin Lepage-Bouchard as he rode his bike only one block away from his home.

The SUV driver said that he never saw the boy coming, but an eyewitness is alleging that the driver was on his cellphone.

"Driver distraction is the greatest unreported traffic safety issue in Canada," Flewelling continued.

"This is why CAA is also calling on drivers, passengers, employers, automobile manufacturers, and technology developers to reduce or eliminate as many distractions as possible from the driving experience. Driving is not a passive activity -- it is a complex task that requires the driver's full attention."