[AT7Saluki]

Obligatory list of "what about's" ...
Eating while driving, reading while driving, applying makeup while driving, GPS while driving, ...

[JaneNC]

Oh please..how stupid

[SoFloFreeper]

Utter bull****. Cops have been doing it for years. So have truck drivers.

I hope Nikki Haley vetoes it if it passes.

[SamAdams76]

I have a hands-free system in my car and all the controls are right on the steering wheel. Talking on it is no more distracting than to a passenger or listening to the radio. So if they are going to ban hands-free, they might as well ban speaking to passengers and listening to radios as well!

[gunsequalfreedom]

I am able to talk on the phone and drive at the same time and it is far less of a distraction to have the phone to my ear than fumbling for hands free buttons.

...but, there are people out there that simply don’t have a clue. I saw one guy stopped at a right turn that had no stop. He was talking on the phone. Others drive gradually slow down and they get more into their phone call.

If you can’t drive and talk on the phone at the same time, don’t! You are ruining it for the rest of us that can.

[Peter from Rutland]

These bills are ridiculous. There are already laws against distracted driving. Enforce them.

[circlecity]

This bill is aimed at revenue generation not public saftey.

[BigBobber]

The bottom line is this. A lot of productive people have to drive a lot during the working day. Having to stop every time one needs to make or take a call is a productivity killer. This is an anti-economy bill.

Note the justification for the law - at 55 mph you travel so far in a second, blah, blah. Pitiful. That’s the best they have?

There is no statistical evidence to support such bills.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

God Lord! Have any of these fools seen the dashboard of newer cars? It's a friggin’ computer, complete with pull up keyboards! So many gadgets and they're worried about “hands-free” usage of a cell phone?!!!

[The_Victor]

Based upon their logic, they should ban radios, eating, conversations with a passenger, children,....

[Mr. Bird]

I’ve made the choice to not talk on the phone when driving, except in very unique circumstances. I do find it distracting. I don’t necessarily support legislation against it, but I do support legislation against horrific driving (which is frequently accomplished by a driver on a phone).

[Michael Barnes]

I freely admit; I suck at driving and talking on a cell, so I DON'T!

Don't we already have enough rules and laws on the books to take care of pretty much any incident involving motor vehicles already?
It's fairly simple, you plow into someone else, you are responsible for taking care of the damages the other property owner incurs.

This "cell phone" law smells of a revenue making scheme by the state.

[abbyg55]

Obligatory list of "what about's" ... Eating while driving, reading while driving, applying makeup while driving, GPS while driving, ...

You left out watching TV while driving:

AUGUSTA, Maine Maine state police say a Kentucky motorist had an excuse when she was stopped because she watching a TV show while driving on I-95. Spokesman Steve McCausland says the motorist told a trooper that she was tired and was watching the “Gilmore Girls” on her laptop computer to stay awake.

Trooper Tim Marks was stationed at the Gardiner toll plaza making sure drivers were were wearing seat belts when he saw the motorist pass through with her laptop open over the Fourth of July weekend.

The motorist, who was not identified, did not receive a citation for her actions. Maine law prohibits motorists from watching television while driving, but the statute is vague when it comes to other electronic components like a computer.

[Rashputin]

They can already fine you for not wearing a seat belt and the danger in not wearing one is to yourself. Seats and belts for children is one thing but I don't see the difference between a fine for an adult not wearing a belt and a fine for an adult using the phone. If they can say you risking your own butt is a hazard they say you on a cellphone is a hazard as well. I've always worn my seat belt but I hate ending up in a line waiting for half an hour while they're passing out tickets for no belt especially when almost every car has only the driver in it.

Just sayin’, you give them an inch don't bitch when they think they're ruler.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

I have wondered how many of the 'holier-than-thou, my-poop-don't-stink, no talking on cell phone do-gooders' have GPS systems in their cars.

[Lockbox]

Gee, guess there are a lot of activities which NC will need to address.

Distracted drivers pose safety hazard, according to new UNC study

The study found that drivers were most often distracted by something outside their vehicle (29.4 percent) followed by adjusting a radio or CD player (11.4 percent). Other specific distractions included talking with other occupants (10.9 percent), adjusting vehicle or climate controls (2.8 percent), eating or drinking (1.7 percent), cell-phone use (1.5 percent) and smoking (0.9 percent).

http://www.aaafoundation.org/multimedia/index.cfm?button=disdrv

[Prospero]

By far, the greatest driver-distraction is the radio. The same logic applied to hands-free cellphone use would put an end to drive-through fast food and inevitably lead to someone getting a ticket for talking on a cell-phone when they were actually praying, or singing.

Will this same law apply to law enforcement? Would it ban the use of two-way radios, as well?

No. Unless the legislature is willing to try banning these other distractions first this one needs a lot more explanation.

Instead of the nanny "because we said so" argument they will need to cite the studies showing a very real hypnotic state appears to exist among drivers when talking on a cellphone while driving.

The legislature will need to explore less baby & bathwater measures, such as limiting hands-free calls while driving to thirty seconds, or something similar.

This bill, as it stands, amounts to a ban on cellphones in general, or a ban on their use, and smacks of creating probable cause for officer intervention where no other exists.

[OK]

The Mythbusters did some experiments with this and found that carrying on a phone conversation caused as much driver impairment as driving drunk. Of course there is a difference in real life so that a person carrying on a conversation while driving would most likely stop talking and paying attention to the phone if conditions required rapt attention to driving. But it did show that being distracted by a conversation causes unsafe drivers.

[TigersEye]

Driver: "It's one of those cheap hearing aids, officer."

Cop: "OK, sir. Have a nice day. Sorry to inconvenience you."

[longtermmemmory]

give how smartphones now require letter entry to call a specific name, technology has already outpaced the law.

This sounds like a nanny state politician who was pissed off at someone. I bet there is an exclusion for these “special” people.

[RickB444]

As a motorcycle rider who has had near death expierences from idiots talking on their phones I say ban the damn things while driving.

I also agree to ban eating, makup, shaving, reading, watching tv, etc while driving. When you are driving you should be just driving not a bunch of other stuff.

I don’t want to die because you feel it is time to say hello to grandma.