All talking on the phone, hand held or hand free should be banned while the vehicle is in motion. If you must talk, pull off the road. Unfortunately no one in the position to make the the laws needed to stop this foolishness has the balls to do it.

If it is switched to speaker-phone mode and is not held in someone's hand it may not be any more dangerous than talking to someone sitting next to you in the car.

Many new cars have a place to plug in a cellphone and use it, hands-free.

Your idea to tell friends to call you back when they are NOT driving is a good one.

But having a law like that makes NO difference.

I live in NJ. It's been illegal here to talk on a cell phone for years. And at least half (often more) of the cars you pass on the road have drivers who are holding a cell phone up to their ears. The fines are relatively stiff, but there simply aren't enough law enforcement personnel to enforce a law that millions in the state break daily.

Of course, one day, I was approaching a corner, and a big SUV was turning onto the street I was on, (coming toward me) I was shocked to see the driver holding a cell phone up to her ear with one hand, while she brought a cigarette up to her mouth with the other!!! Terrifying to see someone turning a corner, driving in my direction like that. Guess she was driving with her knees?????

Yes and I just can not even attempt to do it, I am not a good multi tasker! My husband has his bluetooth ear piece which he uses when driving, I have one too but hate anything in my ears. Some do have the type that you can talk hands free too. I am always on alert when speaking to anyone who is driving. I have one friend that does that all the time, she calls as she is driving home from work or to somewhere etc and so many times I hear near crashes and a few times a lot of cussing LOL then I am freaking out hoping I did not just hear her crash and burn. I try to come up with some reason to cut the call short.

I have honest to goodness seen several people not looking at the road at all they were just intent on texting! but if you call 911 and tell them you have seen someone texting they will come out and stop them. I had a friend that was nearly in a wreck on the interstate, both the cars that almost caused the wreck were both texting and NEVER stopped doubt they were even aware of it. So she immediately hit the 911 on her onstar and reported it, they had her stay on with them telling them exactly where they were by mile marker and sure as heck they pulled both of them off the road and thanked her. That is one reason I like my onstar too I can use that and the built in phone with out having to use my hands for anything.

It's against the law here in CA, but you would never know it. Daily I see parents talking on cell phones or texting with children in the car. Great role models! Makes me crazy!

I too have friends who like to call me (hand held cell phone) while they are stuck in traffic. I always ask if they are driving and if so, I tell them to call me back when they get home.

Your idea to tell friends to call you back when they are NOT driving is a good one.
Thanks. I was hoping to find proof of the law here in IN (and also in IL) so I could remind the friends of the law, as well as tell them (if need be) that I just don't want to be a part of them putting themselves in danger by talking to me.

The heck of it is that both friends have Bluetooth, but one doesn't know where his is, and the other just doesn't consistently use it. I'd think that would be a lot more comfortable than either holding the phone with a hand or a shoulder.

"If it is switched to speaker-phone mode and is not held in someone's hand it may not be any more dangerous than talking to someone sitting next to you in the car".
Sorry, petaloid, your statement above is dead wrong. (Pun intended) Talking to someone sitting next to you does not take nearly as much of your attention from the task of driving as talking on the phone. It has been proven over and over.

I don't think anyone should use a phone while driving for any reason.

I will not answer my cell phone when I'm driving, no matter who is calling. Not for DH, not for Mom, not for my "bestest friend in the whole wide world". Once I get to where I'm going I stop the engine and then check the phone.

If I'm overcome with the urge to call, I pull over - lots of room for that here on the prairie - turn off the engine, and then call. I've had several people pull over to ask me if I'm having car problems. Even a cop. He gave me such a funny look when I said "I'm fine; I just had to call my niece!"

There is nothing on earth important enough to have to have a phone planted in my ear every second of the day. When I call people and I suspect they are driving, I hang up. I had to hang up on one friend 10 times before she got the message to not call me, or answer my calls, when she was driving. I'd rather tick her off than have her killed.

I turn off my phone when I'm shopping; I hate to have to listen to others blubbering on and on in the grocery store. I turn it off when eating out, or in the library, or out just walking around.

I wish stores/businesses would install old-time phone booths so people needing to make cell-phone calls could go in the booth, shut the door, and yak all they want, without subjecting the rest of the world to their conversations.

Can you guess? I'm not pleased with cell phones. I can't hardly stand my cell phone. DH insists I keep it for when I'm driving in the winter. "What if a blizzard blew in?"

"If" a blizzard blew in while I was on the long, flat road to town (and it has) I would pull off the road, put the orange flag out the window, pull the blizzard kit to the front from the cargo area (while inside the car), and wait it out. During the few blizzard-type storms we had, there was no cell-phone service. I keep the recommended items in the kit; and keep the kit in the car from Sept 15 - May 15.

Ideally, if there was service, I would call DH and tell him where I was stuck. Not that he could come out, but he'd know where I was. I have everything for basic survival for a couple of days or longer. It would blow over before then and I'd wind my way home. During the winters I always carry at least three days of diabetes meds/needles with me when I venture out, "just in case." I count on them far more than my cell phone.

It does worry me when I take the boys out in the winter. I always have at least 5 lbs. of dog food in the cargo area if they're going out with me in the car. I also add more blankets 'cause only two of us can fit in my parka...and Sam would have to stay warm, too. LOL

Hey Raven, I saw a man reading the newspaper while driving. He had it spread out on the steering wheel. Crazy people out there.

I think it is dangerous. I also think MOST people don't think THEY are affected. They think THEY have the proper knack or something!

I always wear a blue tooth while driving, but never make any calls. I do sometimes receive a phone call while driving, but unless it is something very important (almost never), I ask if I can call them back.

I'm with Gazania on this one.

Amen Redcurls! You nailed that!

Joann started a new thread abut hands-free and I understand now that doing that while driving is dangerous too.

Guess I will be the first admit..I talk on my cellphone while I am driving. I DO NOT text, but talk yep.
That one single cellphone conversation is not a distraction to me. I am used to focusing on driving with distractions all around me.
Try driving a school bus with 78 kids, yelling screaming hitting and doing everything else they can think of..a single phone conversation is nothing.

I don't like the law. If they are banning talking on a cell phone than a multitude of other distractions should be banned also. Start with eating while driving. Nothing like a drippy burger to keep one focused on the road. Or those annoying GPS systems. Nothing makes me feel safer than being on a highway behind someone staring at a map on the screen. Snort.

Personally I believe that engaging in any avoidable distractive behavior should up the liability and culpability should one cause/be involved an accident.

But it should be on a case by case basis.

All these laws are useless "feel good" laws/ The scofflows ignore them and the ones who would be most cautious anyway are the ones who obey them.

It is also illegal in Hawaii but we still see many people talking on their cell phones. DH gets angry because they are usually going slow and/or weaving on the road because they can't seem to pay attention to driving. My daughter NEVER answers when she's driving and DH doesn't either. We so many accidents and a lot of deaths in the news because of people talking on their phones.

I also think hand-held or bluetooth, it's just as dangerous. No comparison to talking to someone in the car with you, because then you'd also have another set of eyes and ears.

I agreed with the ban when it was introduced here in Delaware. I almost got hit three different times while people were on their phones.

Like others here, if it rings, I let it go to voice mail and check it when I'm parked. No body has been offended that I didn't answer them till after I was off the road.

I only carry it and have it on when I'm traveling to and from the house or on long trips.

Whether it's a law or not, no one should be talking on a phone, whether it's hand held or mounted.....I think it's been proven, talking on a phone, takes your concentration away from driving....And that goes for doing makeup, drinking coffee and even adjusting the radio......We had an incident not too far from here where a driver reached to turn the radio and struck and killed a bike rider.....
Sometimes I wonder how people got along before these phones.......

Boy, do I sound nasty today, lol.......

I agree, the driver doesn't belong on the phone. I think there's a big difference between phone conversations and talking in the car. For one thing, people in the car are generally aware of what's happening on the road. The person on the other end of the phone is not, and he or she either keeps talking or wonders (sometimes aloud) why you've stopped.

I even limit the kind of talking I do in the car. I have normal conversations, but I don't relate lengthy anecdotes. I avoid anything that takes my focus off the road.

Whoever came up with the idea that you HAVE to answer your phone or return a text right away should be punished. Lol, I don't answer anything if I am busy, just like a ringing doorbell, if I want to see or talk to you I will when it is a good time for me. If I call, text or visit you and it is not a good time for you I understand.