Originally Posted by
spivonious
Bingo. And what about hands-free cell phones? It's been shown to cause no more of an issue than talking with a passenger.
Incorrect. Hands free has been shown to be every bit distracting as talking into a handset. The problem is that the person on the other end of the line is not aware of the traffic the driver is in. If the person you're talking to is in the car, they can see complex traffic patterns and can shut the hell up (or even shout a warning) if things are getting dicey. Someone on a cell phone connection won't know that.