Ed Stokes experienced the scare of his life two weeks ago when he crossed a street near campus with his 7-year old daughter and her friend.

As Stokes, a UA alumnus, reached the end of a crosswalk with the two children, a student talking on her cell phone while driving her car raced down the street, hitting the stroller where the children sat.

Lisa Stokes, Ed Stokes' wife, said she's not sure the student's cell phone use caused the accident but did say the student was not paying attention.

"Cell phones are getting out of hand. All these people are just walking around campus with them," Lisa Stokes said. "They should be illegal when someone is driving."

Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman, said accidents on campus have increased with the rise in cell phone use.

Mejia said several officers in his department have noticed that trend.

An August 2003 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that cell phone use was the ninth-largest distraction for drivers.

Activities found more distracting than cell phones included reaching for items and talking to other passengers while driving.

"In general, cell phones can be a problem," Mejia said. "You may be talking on your cell phone while driving a 2,000- to 3,000-pound vehicle and not be paying attention to people walking in the road."

The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains that 17 states, including California and New York, have laws that require drivers to use hands free sets.

Arizona does not have a similar law.

Victoria Gullett, an undeclared freshman, said she thinks such a law would be hard to enforce.

"Everyone talks on their cell phones, but if it's working in other states, maybe it's worth trying," she said.

Gullett admitted to using her cell phone while driving, although she said she believes it's dangerous.

"There's been a couple of times when I've been on my phone and almost hit someone because I wasn't paying attention," she said.

Kaitlin Shupe, a molecular and cellular biology freshman, said she would support a law to limit cell phone use while driving.

"It's necessary to have some sort of regulation," she said.

Mejia said students who need to talk on their cell phones should pull over so they can concentrate on the conversation.

Lisa Stokes said she and her family were shocked when the student's car hit their stroller, and even more shocked when the car didn't stop.

The children were not hurt, but the stroller was damaged.

"It was really scary for us, two small kids in a stroller. Someone could have been killed," said Lisa Stokes.

Although it looked like the student was planning to leave the scene, police officers pulled the student over.

The student told police she didn't realize she had hit anything and was cited for leaving the scene of an accident.

"There was a loud crack when the stroller was hit. She had to have known," Lisa Stokes said.

While the Stokes family owns a cell phone, Lisa and Ed rarely use it, especially when driving, she said.

Lisa Stokes said she believes students rely too much on their cell phones.

"The conversation can't be that important that the person is willing to risk driving while on the phone and possibly cause an accident," she said.