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This is pretty silly.  I will talk on my cell phone if I want to.

When they introduced the use of hands free devices in Italy I thought it was a move to sell brand new bluetooth devices.  Now  I'm even more convinced.

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peter

<a href="http://www.legalx.net">California Dui</a> 

I think some of the previous comments are a bit naïve We all know how often we speak on the phone and how holding the phone to our ears is very distractive and potentially very dangerous. It is more distractive than other things mentioned as a call can last many minutes while other things though distractive are temporary. Most phones today have a speaker appliction making  them hands free anyway.  

The new California mobile phone law is a joke.  All kinds of things can be distracting in a car.  They key to safety is to teach people how to drive carefully and deal with distractions. For instance, you need to learn not to manipulate your car radio while driving 5 feet behind somebody.  You do it when you're driving 100 feet behind somebody so you have time to react if anything happens while you momentarily take your eyes off the road.

If we're going to ban talking on the phone while driving, then we should probably also ban all of these things while driving:

1) Talking to the passenger sitting next to you
2) Combing your hair
3) Applying makeup
4) Changing the radio station
5) Fiddling with your GPS unit
6) Looking out the side windows

Driving is dangerous and people need to be trained to drive responsibliy and cope safely with distractions.  The key is in the training, not in the banning.

What will it look like when each state starts banning various things you might possibly do in your car? I can just see driving across the country with a big cheat sheet showing all the things I am am not allowed to do in the various states. I can talk on the phone in Arizona but not California.  I can come my hair in Illinois but not Iowa. In New Hampshire I'm not allowed to talk to my passenger.  No putting on lipstick in Oregon.  C'mon people...  Knocki it off with the silly laws.  It will have little to possibly no impact whatsoever.

They should also ban mother inlaws and other back seat distractions...

Why do law makers have to over complicate matters? If a law is introduced to simply ban the use of mobiles when driving, how can people then use them to text without breaking the law?

The $20 dollar penalty is a joke. Here in the U.K. the penalty for first offence is £60 ($120) plus three points on license. 12 points on a license results in automatic disqualification. That may seem harsh, but it is very effective.