U.S. researchers have counted 16,000 people who were killed in road accidents caused by distraction from calling or texting through mobile phones.

The research done by Fernando Wilson and Jim Stimpson of the University of North Texas Health Science Center and published in the American Journal of Public Health on Thursday said most of the fatalities from 2001 to 2007 were under 30.

Among the causes of road fatalities, distracted deaths represent 10.9 percent in 1999. This increased to 15.8 percent in 2008 with most occurring after 2005, according to the study. There were 5,870 road deaths or 1 in 6 fatal vehicle crashes caused by distracted driving in 2008.

The basis of the findings are details on road deaths from each state, mobile phone ownership, SMS volume from the Federal Communications Commission and related reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

There is a correlation between the number of cellphone ownership and the number of text messages sent with distracted deaths. Wilson and Stimpson estimate a 19-percent rise in deaths due to distracted driving for every one million increase in cellular phone subscribers.

The study noted that one million SMS were sent per month in the U.S. in 2002. The texting volume rose to 110 million SMS in 2008.

Wilson said the difficulty in enforcing texting ban while driving hampers effort to curb rising deaths from mobile phone distractions as police have to see drivers actually using their handsets.