JONATHAN ADLER ON THE NTSB: Texts, Lies, And Distracted Driving. “The National Transportation safety Board (NTSB) is supposed to be ‘an independent federal agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents’ that, among other things, conducts ‘objective, precise accident investigations and safety studies.’ So why is NTSB Chair A.P. Hersman falsely claiming that 3,000 people died in traffic accidents last year due to the use of cellphones or other ‘portable electronic devices’ while driving? As Walter Olson notes, the 3,000-death figure is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s estimate for deaths due to all sorts distracted driving, and only one-third of these deaths were attributed to the use of portable electronic devices.”