These days, it's rare to see a teenager without a cell phone in their hands. But a group of six teens in Parkland are urging their peers as well as everyone else to put the phones down while they're driving.

The teens, all students at Majorie Stoneman Douglas Senior High School in Parkland, banded together this spring and approached city and police officials to pass a ban on texting and driving within the city limits.

``Teens are most at risk,'' says Josh Feinzig, 16, one of the teens that started TTYL Inc., a nonprofit organization that is pushing the initiative beyond Parkland. ``But the danger of texting and driving could impact everyone.''

Josh, his twin brother Adam and four friends started to raise awareness of the risks of texting while driving after being in cars with friends who were using their phones and coming too close to having an accident.

In September, the Parkland City Commission gave unanimous initial approval to the ban, citing a recent study by the Virginia Transportation Institute that showed drivers who text while behind the wheel are 23 times more likely to crash than other drivers. Parkland is the first city in Broward County to enact such a ban.

Feinzig and his friends would like to see the County Commission pass a countywide ban. The teens are also working with state Sen. Ted Deutsch, D-Delray Beach, on a bill that could go to the Florida Legislature next spring.

Already 17 states ban the practice, including Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois.

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