Hands-free exemptions in cell-phone driving laws are nonsensical. That much has been obvious to me and a lot of other people for years. The problem with phoning while driving isn’t just that your hands and eyes are busy with the phone, it’s because your BRAIN is busy in a remote conversation that you’ll ultimately get lost in.
Here’s where I hypothesize why it’s more dangerous to be on a phone conversation, than chewing gum while driving (or walking). Gum chewing is a veritable automatic response to there being a food-like substance in your mouth — you chew. This is not the same as engaging in conversation, which requires the use of thinking and non-automated parts of your brain, the same parts that much be responsible for calculating trajectories of pending threats to your vehicle and others’ lives. Tying up your thought process with thinking of responses to the person you’re conversing with by phone is statistically proven to imperil your life. As if vehicles weren’t dangerous enough, we’ve started treating the blasted things like they’re working on Jestons’ autopilot, and are using them head-free, while on hands-free phones.
If smokers weren’t juggling a burning object at high speeds, I’d say it’s probably safer to be smoking and driving, cancer risk included, than to be involved in conversations on cell phones while driving through high incident areas like cities and intersections with regular traffic. The habit of putting burning tubes to ones mouth and breathing in and out are entirely automatic, hindering only the automatic processing that goes with driving once a driver is experienced. Talking intelligently, on the other hand, is hardly an automatic response for the human brain. Many people are not even able to hold intelligent conversation while not operating heavy machinery accelerated to dangerous speeds.
So, should the cell phone laws be amended to the unpopular position of banning in-motion/on-road phone conversations, leave the law half-hearted and half-headed by banning only one type of dangerous cell-phone activity, or be removed entirely for being half-wrong in recommending another unsafe activity to replace the very unsafe act of holding a cell phone conversation in your hand, and in your mind, while accelerated?
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff 
https://twitter.com/#!/DaniMarioCBC/status/164038552282345473
The problem is that it really doesn’t matter whether it is demonstrably more dangerous or not – too many people depend upon such communications for work, including the police. Cars are incredibly dangerous and people die every day from driving them, to say nothing of the pollution etc. But there are just some things we are going to continue to do.
I agree, a line in the law has to be made somewhere. Police and taxi drivers need radios, and with enough practice and routine conversations, their brains may adapt so it’s not quite so dangerous as an average person talking about random events.
I agree, no more Tims coffee in the car, no more Big Macs while driving, and everyone must wear a helmet while driving. Statistics show that automobile crash head injuries are reduced 96% when the driver is wearing a helmet.
Just helping you out there Saskboy.
If anyone is going to make up figures on my blog Klem, it’s me. You’re not allowed to anymore, I revoked that privilege for you weeks ago. Stop it.
So what’s the difference between a phone conversation hands-free and having a discussion with the passenger next to you? Or driving with 3 kids in a van?
Spacial processing in the brain, is my suspicion. I think if someone isn’t present, the brain works harder at filling in blanks, because it’s not natural to speak to someone who isn’t really there in person. That tying up of the brain probably impacts the ability for people to anticipate and react to sudden changes in driving conditions.
Exactly, so no more conversations while driving, better yet no more passengers either.
You add no value to this conversation Klem. Go converse with someone who is driving instead please.