-- Ford Motor Co. endorsed a bill in Congress Thursday to ban hand-held text messaging while driving.

A Senate version, sponsored by Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., would withhold highway funding to states that didn't adopt a ban.

Peter Lawson, Ford's vice president for government relations, said in an interview the Dearborn automaker was endorsing the Schumer bill that he called a "common-sense measure."

The bill would not prohibit people from using Ford's Sync system or other systems to send hands-free messages.

"We think it's an appropriate response to deal with the issue of hand-held texting, which we think on its face probably should be illegal," Lawson said. He said a broad consensus is developing "that it's appropriate for Congress to do something about this."

Ford is eager to convince policymakers that hands-free systems like Sync are not the problem. They argue the most dangerous situations in vehicles are when drivers look away from the road or take their hands off the wheel, which happens when people are sending text messages. A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study released in July said drivers of heavy vehicles using a hand-held text messaging system had a 23.2 times as high a risk of a crash than drivers who weren't.

"It's a shocking result," said Louis Tijerina, a Ford senior technical specialist.

States would lose 25 percent of their funds if they didn't comply, and the provision is similar to one that enticed states to adopt a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level limit for drunken driving.

To date, 14 states and the District of Columbia have banned sending text messages. But the issue has gotten a lot of attention this summer in Washington amid a series of reports highlighting the issue. Congress could act on the question before the end of the year. Schumer's bill has four co-sponsors in the Senate.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., and Nita Lower, D-N.Y., are working on a companion bill in the House. "It is imperative that we ensure safety on our nation's roadways, limit potential distractions, and promote driver and passenger protections," they wrote in a letter to House colleagues on Tuesday.The National Safety Council has called on banning all cell phone use while driving.

Ford said in a fact sheet it has distributed to members of Congress that it believes some studies "overstate a small relative risk (and) can mislead decision makers into making serious mistakes that can actually thwart effective systems that improve safety."

Ford argues that if all messaging or telephone use was banned in vehicles, it would deter automakers from developing safer hands-free systems.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood plans to hold a summit on distracted driving at the end of the month.