Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone manufacturers are being asked by federal auto safety regulators to consider adding a “driver mode” to block certain apps and functions to prevent distracted driving. In a guidance released Wednesday — and first reported by The New York Times — the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it envisions driver mode as a “simplified user interface that is intended to minimize distraction experienced by a driver using that device.”

A “crisis” in highway deaths

There are more ways to drive distracted than ever, from in-car Wi-Fi to Snapchat to Pokémon Go (which has already claimed one driver’s life). So safety regulators are turning to the tech industry for help in combating the rise in fatalities. After a four-decade decline, the number of highway deaths ticked up last year in the largest annual percentage increase in 50 years. And so far, 2016 is on track to be even worse: from January to June, highway fatalities jumped 10.4 percent from 2015, according to NHTSA. That’s 17,775 deaths in the US alone. Safety regulators are calling the recent spike “a crisis.”

In driver mode, smartphones would be unable to access certain apps, like Twitter or Snapchat. Video would be blocked, as would distracting graphics and scrolling text. Users would also be unable to use the phone’s keyboard to text or send emails. Driver mode could be engaged automatically by pairing with a vehicle’s infotainment system, or would need to be turned on manually. Federal regulators say that by implementing these changes, device manufacturers can help reduce auto accidents and fatalities due to distracted driving.

The guidance is an acknowledgement that while most states have banned handheld phone use while driving, most of these laws are difficult to enforce. Researchers and safety advocates have long been calling on the government to require the auto industry to include technology in their vehicles that would render smartphones inoperable.

NHTSA envisions driver mode operating similarly to airplane mode, which has been a feature on most smartphones since they first came out almost a decade ago. Airplane mode shuts off wireless communication and prevents the phone from interfering with an airplane’s electronics system.

“build products that cut down on distraction”

“As millions of Americans take to the roads for Thanksgiving gatherings, far too many are put at risk by drivers who are distracted by their cellphones,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “These commonsense guidelines, grounded in the best research available, will help designers of mobile devices build products that cut down on distraction on the road.”

The guidelines released by NHTSA would only be voluntary. The agency is seeking public comment from device makers before finalizing its proposal. While the federal government can’t force tech companies to comply, it has worked with them in the past in setting up vehicle navigation and entertainment systems to minimize distracted driving.