Quote:
Originally Posted by Thor
I'll do my best, there are sooo many various studies being done and its hard to pick one or two and call it gospel. The meta analysis will be the key here and so far its clear that talking on the phone is distracting with similar risks to drinking and driving, and hands free has its risks as well, albeit not as much.
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It is my understanding that the conversation with a passenger who isn't present is where the distraction comes from, not hand placement. I have also received a letter from Alberta Transportation confirming that while they acknowledge that both are equally dangerous, hands free is simply too hard to enforce so they didn't ban it.
For those who argue that talking to your wife in the passenger seat is no different, try driving in a snow storm. The conversation is always adjusted to the road conditions and outside stimuli while on the phone the other person can't see what is happening so they don't react, or worse, you have to take the time to explain to them why you are suddenly paying more attention to driving then them.
If you are interested, there is a website that has you pay attention to driving and listen to your wife at the same time. You have to hit space bar every time you are asked a question to prove that you are paying attention to the listener. At the same time you have to count the number of pedestrians wearing blue, yellow and red shirts. It is surprisingly difficult to do both at the same time.