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Henry Labonte may have seen the future of the American road.

Labonte, who runs a well-known local driving school, says he can always count on seeing teen drivers-in-training talking on their cell phones when they arrive for class and during regular breaks.

"They can't be off them," said Labonte, who had to impose a rule that students could not text or use a cell phone during class. Students were warned they'd be tossed out of class if they violated the policy.

"Even that wasn't enough to dissuade them," said Labonte, who's had to enforce the penalty more than once.

That bothers the driving instructor, because if students can't keep their hands off their electronic devices while in a supervised setting, they're even more likely to do so on their own behind the wheel. Labonte preaches that driver inattention from the use of cell phones and other gadgets can delay reactions and lead to accidents, particularly when combined with other bad habits like tailgating.

But he fears that driving while talking on the phone has become the rule, rather than the exception, on the American road.

"It's like a part of the culture now," he said.

Not only is it a part of the culture, it's taking casualties.

In 2007, 18-year-old Jordan Cibley of Foxboro was talking on a cell phone when the car he was driving barreled into a tree on Barrows Street in Norton, killing him.

His father, Jerold Cibley, who had been on the phone with his son at the time, appealed for state legislators to ban all but hands-free cell phone use while driving. So far, no legislation has been passed in Massachusetts, although various bills are pending that target use of wireless devices by young drivers.

But tragedies linked to talking or texting aren't limited to inexperienced drivers.

In May, an MBTA trolley driver from Attleboro was fired after allegedly texting his girlfriend just before an accident that injured at least 40 people.

Research by the U.S. Department of Transportation indicates use of hand-held devices while driving is increasing for all ages. And deaths and injuries from all forms of "distracted driving" - from texting to adjusting a car's climate controls - are on the rise.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's latest figures, almost 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver in 2008 and more than a half-million were injured. In all, the federal government estimates 16 percent of all fatal crashes were caused by such factors. Many feel that talking on or manipulating wireless communication devices are an increasing hazard.

On any given day last year, according to the NHTSA, more than 800,000 vehicles are being driven at any one moment by someone who's on the phone. But cell phones, BlackBerrys and iPhones are hardly the only potential threats to driver attentiveness.

"There are plenty of causes of distracted driving that don't involve technology," said Sheila Burgess-Hill, director of the state's Highway Safety Division.

Eating, talking to another occupant in the vehicle or switching stations on the car radio also divert drivers' attention.

But there's no doubt that a surge in handheld electronic devices is having an impact, federal authorities say.

The DOT, kicking off a summit on distracted driving in September, released a study pointing to the prevalence of such gadgets on the nation's highways.

"Across the board, federal researchers who have directly observed drivers of all ages found that more and more people are using a variety of hand-held devices while driving - not just cell phones, but also iPods, video games, BlackBerrys and GPS systems," the agency reported. "In particular, cell phone use for talking and texting is now more prevalent on our nation's roads, rail systems and waterways, carrying a dangerous potential for accidents."

Devices are certainly out there.

According to a DOT survey, about 81 percent of people say they have a wireless phone in the vehicle when they drive and about 64 percent say they always or usually answer incoming calls. About 16 percent said they make outgoing calls while driving.

But is talking on a cell phone while driving inherently dangerous, or an activity more akin to changing stations on the car radio? There are opinions on both sides.

Many safety experts say any additional task that potentially diverts a driver's attention is dangerous. And the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety cites studies indicating that drivers talking on cell phones have up to a four-times greater risk of becoming involved in a personal injury or property damage accident.

But some reports, like the one released last summer by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, found that the risk from merely answering or talking on a cell phone is scarcely more than non-distracted driving.

Dialing or text messaging was judged much more risky.

The telecommunications industry is equally divided.

Industry group CTIA-The Wireless Association is neutral on legislation that advocates full or partial state or federal bans on cell phones, but supports a prohibition on texting behind the wheel.

It also backs proposals to restrict cell phone use by novice drivers, association Vice President John Walls said.

However, Verizon, the wireless and landline phone provider, has supported state legislation to ban all but hands-free phones. A company Web site points to research indicating that "using a wireless phone while driving degrades a driver's performance" either in hand-held or hands-free form.

Verizon has also run radio and TV ads asking people not to text while driving.

Many law enforcement authorities agree with Verizon's posture.

"It's an ever-present problem," said Mansfield Police Chief Arthur O'Neill, who added it's common to see drivers rolling down streets and highways deeply engaged in conversations on their hand-held cell phones.

O'Neill, who said he's certain hand-held electronic devices have contributed to local crashes, says the use of such devices are distracting and divert a driver's attention from the road.

Wrentham Police Chief James Anderson said his officers periodically pull over motorists driving erratically because of their use of hand-held electronics.

"People need to discipline themselves that when they're behind the wheel, they're driving - and that's it," said O'Neill, a former head of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

Ideally, O'Neill said, resisting the temptation to talk or text while driving should be a matter of personal responsibility. But he said he wouldn't be against a law banning the use of such devices behind the wheel.

So far, most states, including Massachusetts, have been reluctant to impose major restrictions on use of electronic devices. The Bay State currently does not ban cell phone use or texting behind the wheel, although it does prohibit school bus drivers from doing so.

Currently, a House bill filed by state Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord, would ban the use of hand-held phones, but allow hands-free phones. Other bills would impose similar restrictions, but limit them to junior operators.

In Rhode Island, just last week, Gov. Don Carcieri signed legislation banning texting while driving, joining 18 other states.

California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington, D.C., prohibit use of hand-held cell phones behind the wheel.

In Washington, both the House and Senate are working on bills that would require drivers using a cell phone to use a hands-free device and provide assistance to states who pass laws banning texting.

Many countries in Europe and the province of Quebec in Canada are even more aggressive.

Cell phone use while driving is banned outright in Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Ireland and Italy, and many countries enforce their bans with heavy fines. In Norway, a driver convicted of talking on the phone while driving can be fined $600 per offense.

But not all Massachusetts lawmakers and highway safety groups are convinced a cell phone ban is the way to go.

State Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, senate chairman of the Legislature's Joint Public Safety Committee, said texting behind the wheel is an obvious no-no. But he's skeptical about a prohibition on cell phones, whose use he likened to switching stations on a car radio.

The state's driving to endanger law already gives police the authority to cite inattentive drivers, he noted.

Other legislators, like state Rep. Bill Bowles, D-Attleboro, say they don't favor an across-the-board ban on cell phones, but would consider Atkins's bill to outlaw only hand-held units while still allowing drivers to talk using hands-free devices.

"It's a reasonable compromise," said Bowles, who added he also supports a ban on texting for junior drivers.

State Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, who uses a hands-free device in the car, said she is opposed to texting while driving and would support restricting cell phones in vehicles to hands-free only.

But, she wonders how effectively such restrictions could be enforced.

"We don't have police officers who are able to look through drivers' windows on the road," she said. "Unfortunately, you can't legislate common sense."

Those who have examined motorists' compliance in states that have adopted bans on using hand-held phones say results are mixed.

A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the impact of such laws on drivers were widely varied in three jurisdictions where they have been enacted.

In Washington, D.C., the proportion of drivers using hand-held phones dropped by about half immediately after a ban took effect in 2004, but now has edged up a little.

New York, which adopted a ban in 2001, and Connecticut, which passed a similar law in 2005, also saw dramatic drop offs, followed by a partial rebound in the proportion of drivers using phones.

However, researchers still calculate that cell phone use while driving still was 24 percent to 65 percent lower than would have been the case without the laws.

AAA Southern New England currently does not advocate a ban on cell phone use, although it is backing Massachusetts legislation that would ban texting by inexperienced drivers. The motorists' organization also favors an across-the-board prohibition on texting, but wants to start with the youngest drivers first, spokeswoman Mary Maguire said.

Maguire said AAA believes it's the type of conversation, rather than just cell phone use, that can be distracting on the highway.

Answering a call from an associate who'll be late for an appointment, for instance, is relatively less distracting than engaging in a heated discussion over the office budget or arguing over the phone.

No such distinction applies to texting, which is likely to require a driver to use one or both hands and take their eyes off the road, Maguire said.

"Texting and driving are like oil and water," she said. "They just don't mix."

Young people just beginning driving, like those observed by Labonte, don't appear to be getting the message.

According to a survey performed by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Drunk Driving, 73 percent of teens admitted to texting while driving. Of those, 97 percent conceded their conduct was dangerous.

If those percentages are representative, they could point to a future where there are many more drivers addicted to using handheld electronic devices than there are today.

But Stephen Wallace, national director of SADD, said peer pressure could help develop safer drivers for the future.

Of teens who reported they texted while driving, 89 percent said they would stop if they were asked to do so by another occupant in the car.

But then, only 46 percent of those polled said they would be comfortable asking a driver to stop.

"If we can empower kids to speak out the way kids have been encouraged to speak out on the issue of alcohol, you could see a change in behavior," he said.

Parents can also get involved.

Teens surveyed say their parents are a major influence on the way they drive, Wallace said.

SADD suggests parents can help increase their teen drivers' safety by setting family rules such as no cell phone use or texting while driving, and enforce consequences when those rules are broken.

Parents also need to set a good example, Wallace said.

"If teens see their parents observing safe driving rules, they're more likely to do so themselves," he said.