I don’t think cell calls while driving is as bad as made out. No doubt somewhat distracting however. Texting, on the other hand, has got to be downright dangerous. While texting, people walk off cliffs, into traffic, run into others, etc. This is well documented.
My personal experience isn’t documented, but I can tell you that if I see a driver weaving back and forth or driving very slowly-—sometimes in the passing lane-—it’s almost a given that the idiot is yakking on a phone. Yesterday a moron was slowly cutting in and out of lanes, once in front of a huge truck, without giving his signal. I knew he was on the phone-—and when I passed him, sure enough.
That doesn’t include the times I’ve almost been hit by people who can’t put the phone down long enough to drive.
I refuse to be a passenger in a car when the driver “has” to text. Other activities that don’t require taking eyes off the road I don’t care about.