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with passengers in your car. And if we ban cell phone use, citing the distracting conversation as the cause, the next logical step is to ban passengers from speaking to the driver at all, because it is simply too unsafe for a driver to engage in any form of communication that does not involve operating the vehicle. Those who wish to ban cell phones in a car may call that argument "slippery-slope logic," but I ask you: is there really any difference between holding a conversation on a phone (once it has been dialed and you are using some sort of hands-free device) and holding a conversation with a passenger in your car? I submit that conversations with passengers are *more* dangerous, since people are inclined to look at the person with whom they are speaking; you cannot look at someone on the other end of your cell phone (yet - when video conferencing cell phones hit the market, this too will need to be revisited).

This begs the question: if we don't need a new law against driving while talking, then why is the amount of cell-phone-related accidents climbing? There are two reasons for this trend. First, the proliferation of cell phones to the general population over the past 10 years has rapidly increased to the point that nearly everyone has a cell phone. Second, only recently have state patrols and police organizations across the country started tracking statistics specifically stating that cell phone use was involved in the accident (not necessarily, mind you, that cell phone use *caused* the accident). A new law would be entirely appropriate if there were no way in which to use a new item safely while in a car. This is why it is not illegal to read in a car, or eat in a car. You can do those things, just not while you're driving. And if you do those things while you're driving, and they distract you from your driving, you face prosecution for any injuries you may cause.

With all this said, is there a way to use a cell phone safely in a car while driving? The answer is absolutely yes. Some ways to ensure "safe cell" while driving:

1. Use a headset or hands-free device. This frees your hands to use the wheel and keeps your eyes fully on the road ahead, without limiting the motion of your head or your field of view.

2. Use your phone's voice-dial feature. Many new phones today have voice-activated dialing, such that you can place a call simply by speaking a name from your address book, or speaking the individual digits. You can then place calls without the need for your eyes to leave the road.

3. If you must dial the phone using the keypad, pull over to the side of the road, safely out of traffic, and then dial your call. Once your call is connected and your hands-free system is engaged, you may proceed.

4. Know your own limitations. If you know that you cannot carry on a conversation on a cell phone without losing focus on the road, you probably should refrain from any conversations, including those with passengers in your car.

Cries for bans on all cell phones need to be tempered with common sense and logic. There are many distracting things in a car: radios, navigation systems, CD players, climate control systems, passengers, etc. Until we figure out how to deal with all of these distractions, not just the latest statistical spike, we need to step back and apply logic to the discussion. We already have laws against distracted driving; common sense and good judgment need to take over from there.

Learn more about this author, Bill Stone.
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