For a while now I've been a huge supporter for the complete ban of cell phones in cars. Ok, I haven't actually done anything about it, but people know how much cell phone use while driving pisses me off. I already feel there are too many bad drivers on the road, and it's almost a guarantee that the driver next to me doing something dangerous will be on the phone.

Arstechnica talks about an study which shows that cell phone use is a problem even if you use an earpiece. It's when the other person on the phone asks a question or switches topics that problems arise. The driver is forced to think of a response, and this increases response time.

So handsfree headsets do nothing. We need to completely ban cell phones while driving. It's pretty amazing that a person can be driving a 2 ton automobile at 70mph on a public road full of other cars and drivers, and be distracted by cell phone use. It definitely seems like a case where we are given too much liberty. There's a law that we must wear a seatbelt, which only protects the person wearing it, and no law saying you shouldn't talk and drive, which endangers *other* people on the road. Unfortunately legistlation to stop this didn't come soon enough, and stopping people now might be impossible.