BOSTON -- You've seen it, and maybe you've done it yourself once or twice.

Now there's a new push to get you to put down the cell phone and watch the road following the release of some startling new numbers on just how many crashes involve cell phone use.

Researchers said if you talk or text while driving, you are four times more likely to be involved in a crash on the road.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Safety Council will be announcing the formation of a new group called FocusDriven, a non-profit group similar to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which will aim to discourage talking and texting behind the wheel.

Doing so is not illegal in the Bay State yet, but many are pushing for tighter restrictions, especially for teenagers.

"Your basic immaturity and the false sense of invincibility is all too often a deadly combination behind the wheel," said Jennifer Smith, president of FocusDriven.

Smith's mother was killed in 2008 when her car was hit by a car driven by a woman who ran a red light while talking on a cell phone.

"We need to treat this as a public health emergency," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The group has released some grim numbers, its research indicating that cell phones cause 1.6 million crashes every year, with just over 1.5 million talking on the phone and 200,000 texting. Federal officials estimated in 2007 that 11 percent of drivers talk on cell phones.

It is difficult to report hard numbers on accidents caused by drivers using cell phones because police in about half the U.S. do not collect such data.