Originally Posted by meembo

That is a remarkable assertion. I don't know you, but your confidence in your ability to ignore distractions on a dime sounds superhuman! I'm glad you try to limit your attention to the call, but I assert that the simple act of answering calls while driving is the first in a chain of distractions during the call that endanger you and others. By the time you realize the call needs to be dropped in order to pay attention to the road, your reaction time to hazards has slowed considerably already. In the same way a drunk driver can't accurately judge his abilities because of his impairment, a chatting driver with divided attention can't judge to the best of his ability when to "refocus" on the road.

I fundamentally disagree with you that the issue is "training and awareness". No amount of training removes the threat of distractions while driving. The issue is distraction, whether it is in the form of a child or a hamburger or a phone call. I don't see how it's possible to advocate awareness and defend cell phone calls while driving. The reduction of cell phones and other distractions to the driver is precisely the issue.