This Washington Post article from last Friday explains that a coalition of the top state highway safety officers want to ban hand-held cell phone use by drivers. But their ultimate goal is probably a ban on all cell-phone use by drivers — hand-held or hands-free — because, as we've explained earlier, studies show that hands-free cell phone use while driving is as dangerous (or nearly as dangerous) as hand-held use. Here's an excerpt from the Post article:
A national coalition of state highway safety officials …
called for outlawing all hand-held use of cellphones while behind the
wheel.
The recommendation by the Governors Highway Safety Association carries
particular weight because its members are the chief highway safety
officers in each state. Regulation of mobile device use by drivers falls
in the purview of state legislatures, where lawmakers in many states
have been hesitant to tackle the cellphone issue and endure the public
backlash. … A ban on hand-held use could be the first step toward what some experts
argue is the real solution: a ban on any cellphone use in moving
vehicles. Several studies have shown that requiring drivers to use
hands-free devices to talk on their cellphones does little to minimize
the distraction caused by a conversation. The National Transportation
Safety Board last year recommended a total ban on using mobile devices
to hold conversations or send text messages while driving.
