Unlike some of his friends, Brett Donald never texts while he drives. But, sometimes he does answer his cellphone while he’s on the go, and he’s not doing it hands free.

“I try not to, but sometimes you can’t avoid it,” said Donald, 22, of Bremerton last week.

Although Washington state law prohibits talking on a cellphone while driving — it’s a primary traffic offense, with exceptions such as using a headset or Bluetooth device or having the phone on speaker mode and holding it to the mouth rather than to the ear. However, in the eyes of The National Transportation and Safety Board, those exceptions are not good enough.

Last Tuesday, the NTSB called for a nationwide ban on a person’s use of personal electronic devices — like cellphones — while driving.

The recommendation for states to ban all nonemergency cellphone use by drivers stems from recent “distraction accidents” involving deaths that the NTSB has investigated. The most recent situation involved an August 2010 crash in which a pickup truck hit a semi in Gray Summit, Mo. The result was two deaths and 38 people injured.

The NTSB investigation revealed that the pickup driver sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes before the crash.

Donald said incidents like that can be avoided. Don’t text and drive.

“It’s unnecessary that it shouldn’t happen,” he said.

Even though Kitsap drivers know they should not be gabbing on the phone while in the car, a state law hasn’t stopped many and Donald doesn’t think NTSB’s recommendation will do any better.

“It’s more habit than anything,” Donald said. “We’re a high speed nation.”

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office does not keep data on whether or not the cause of a car crash is phone or text related, but “it does happen,” said deputy Scott Wilson, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

In the first nine months of 2011, 371 drivers were ticketed by the county for talking on cellphones and 11 others were ticketed for texting while driving, said Wilson.

“Those are significant numbers,” he said.

And although the year isn’t over, those numbers are an increase from the year before. In the 2010 calendar year, 283 drivers were ticketed for cellphone talking and nine for texting by sheriff’s deputies.

Whether or not added restrictions to the state’s cellphone law will decrease numbers, it cannot be determined. The sheriff’s office doesn’t take a stance when other agencies propose recommendations, it merely enforces the law when it has been passed, said Wilson.

Thomas Neil, of Chico, thinks that other “pressing things” can be more distracting for drivers than talking on a cellphone, giving the examples of changing the radio dial or eating. He doesn’t think the state should adopt NTSB’s recommendation.

“It’s like trying to stop people from driving,” said Neil, 60. “I don’t think rules have stopped people from driving.”

Neil is one of those drivers who sometimes talks on his cellphone while driving and that he keeps his eyes out for cops.

Talking on a cellphone became a primary offense for drivers, along with texting, in 2010. That year, Washington State Patrol issued 839 tickets for talking on their cellphone and 965 verbal warnings for the same and  52 drivers were ticketed and 68 were given a verbal warning for texting.

in the district that includes Kitsap County, said Dan Coon, a spokesman for the state patrol.

Cellphone and texting tickets and warnings have decreased through the first 11 months of 2011, according to the state patrol. Troopers wrote 536 tickets and gave 577 verbal warnings for talking on phones and only 29 tickets and 41 verbal warnings for driving while texting. The decrease in cellphone-related ticketing could result from multiple factors.

“It could be that people are obeying the law,” said Coon. “It could be as simple as that.”

The state patrol doesn’t think the state Legislature and citizens would favor a complete ban of cellphone use while driving, Coon said.

State law allows for drivers to make 9-1-1 calls to report emergency incidents they may witness while on the road.

Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for NTSB, said while last week’s announcement is a recommendation, it would be up to each state to develop jurisdiction including making emergency calls exempt.

Richard Kirton, director of CENCOM, the county’s central communications, said 13,649 total calls were received through 9-1-1 lines last month. Of that, 3,545 were from landlines, 9,188 from cellphones and 916 from voice over Internet protocol devices.

If a law prohibited all drivers from cellphone use under all circumstances, Kirton said there could be big delays between when an accident occurs and when CENCOM receives a 9-1-1 call.

However, Kirton said not  all calls are from drivers. But if drivers witnessing something like a timely crime or a drunk driver, safety always needs to be taken into consideration for everyone.

“The first priority for callers and the general public is that they do so from a position of safety,” said Kirton. “If it’s a call you can make, that’s great, pull over and stop driving.”

Kirton isn’t the only one emphasizing safety, many in the community agree.

Bus commuter and Bremerton resident Ellarie Briscoe said two hands on the wheel is always emphasized in drivers education and favors driving responsibly while using hands-free devices. Talking on a cellphone just isn’t safe if both of the driver’s hands are not on the steering wheel, she said.

“It’s not good because so much can happen in a twinkling of an eye,” Briscoe said.