I’ll fess up: I talk on my cell phone while driving. Usually, I use a hands-free device. But that doesn’t matter.
…[P]hone talkers were slower than inebriated drivers to respond to traffic conditions and more likely to be involved in collisions. This study confirmed what others have found: It didn’t matter if drivers were using hands-free or hand-held phones; it’s the distraction factor that matters. When drivers are on the phone, their minds, and sometimes their eyes, are somewhere other than on the road. The term researchers use to describe it, “inattention blindness,” is chilling, because the driver’s seat is no place for any kind of blindness.
I won’t be happy if cell phone use while driving is outlawed. But I’d agree with anyone who proposes such a law. Just don’t expect it to happen here in Virginia. It’s likely unconstitutional. (see here)