The numbers are sobering: 5,474 deaths -- accounting for 16 percent of all traffic fatalities over the past year -- and 448,000 injuries. And those numbers don't even tell the whole story of the toll taken by distracted driving, as LaHood notes that not all states document distracted driving in their crash reports.

Over the past year, the issue has received a lot of attention from legislators, the mainstream media -- even Oprah Winfrey -- but the dangers of distracted driving, it seems, still needs driving home. According to a recent State Farm survey, teens still believe distracted driving is less likely to lead to an accident than driving drunk, even though early evidence does not support the idea.

The summit kicks off tomorrow in Washington, D.C., and we'll have any relevant news or updates via Consumer Reports' staff on hand.