[Spridgets] Hang up and drive, Pt 4

[David Booker]

"even using a hands free phone has been shown to be at least as large an
impairment as driving over the .08 blood/alchohol limit. ....."

 
I'm not trying to argue for phone use, but am just curious how a properly used
hands-free phone is supposed to be as dangerous as driving drunk.  I have
trouble understanding how (again, assuming it is properly used) it is any more
distracting than speaking with a person in the passenger seat.  
 
I use a belt-clip to secure my phone to the shoulder harness of my seat belt
(because I refuse to go thru life with little things with lights dangling from
my ear).  If someone calls, I just reach up, flip open the phone and speak.  I
don't think I am any more distracted than if I were speaking with a passenger
sitting next to me.  I rarely ever make a call, but if I do, it is only to
someone programmed into the phone. Yesterday I reached up, touched a button
and said "Call Kyle Mobile" when checking to see if my 14 year old son was
through with his cross country practice.  It did not cause me to wander in my
lane or break concentration at all.  I concede that if I were having to dial a
number, that would be dangerous, but then it is not a hands-free device is
it?  I also conceed that certain passengers can be very distracting for a wide
range of reasons, but that's a bit off-subject...
 
David Booker
Long Island