The handhelds are only part of the problem. Either eliminate all  telecommunications by the driver of the car, or leave all of it alone.

It is illogical and entirely false to say that talking on a cell phone non-handsfree is less distracting than doing so hands free.

Fact 1) Both hands are supposed to remain on the wheel at all times
Sub Fact 1) Impossible if you are holding a phone.

Fact 2) There are millions of manual transmission vehicles on the road,
Sub Fact 2) It is entirely difficult to maintain full control of your vehicle and change gears while holding a phone.

And those are the most glaring points.  The actual distraction level of the conversation itself is moot. 

You NEED two hands free to properly and safely operate a motor vehicle.

And if you think those fines are ridiculous....

Recently in VA they added ridiculous Civil Penalties to all traffic violations.

So for instance, running a red light... Fee of ~ 250.  Then they tacked this arbitrary $1500 Civil Penalty on top of it.  And the worst part is, they don't charge the fine if you don't live in VA.  BULL SHIT!!!

Bottom line in all political / legal / law debates... if you don't like it move.  If it is absolutely essential for you to talk on your phone while driving without a hands free device, move to another state.

I have the cheapie phone that came free with my contract, since expired, that doesn't come with Bluetooth, and I don't want it.  It has a earbud jack and that's the way it should be. 

I don't want cell phone radiation next to my skull and I certainly don't want a transmitter, though lower-powered than a cell phone, next to my skull either.

However, for the last five months my cell phone jack has not worked.  I know I can do an upgrade and get a free phone, but I had Cingular, which was purchased by AT&T and I think they suck, so I won't be renewing.  So, for in-car calls, I make the call, put it on speakerphone extra loud, and put the phone in my shirt pocket.

Now, I don't want to give Mr. John Q. Law any reason to pull me over, so I went to the 99 Cent store and got a fugly headpiece just to rule out the headphone as the problem before I opened up my phone and fiddled with the bent jack connection - got a cool set of tiny screwdrivers for Christmas you see.  Anyway, the phone works fine with the 99 cent headphone.  So it lives tucked into my sun visor and I use it not for in-car calls.

I still don't like that the government is telling me what to do in my car.  I mean, if I wanted to get road head, that's my business. Oh wait, that is hands free.  Or is it?

In related news, I got a Jawbone today.

"Military Grade technology" that uses a sensor that touches your jawbone (the namesake of the product) that detects when you are talking, thus using the "Noise Shield" or in my version "Noise Assassin" to eliminate all other noises.

I've been told that you can stand next to a loudass fan and still be heard clearly.

Haven't had a chance to try it out extensively yet, but opening this bitch up was like opening up an Apple product... fucking beautiful. I love design art, especially in packaging. It really is a good indicator of product quality and attention to detail. Sexalicious.

Plus, it looks good.

Because I"m too lazy to brag about this in a new topic, yes, the Jawbone works fucking amazing. Music on high, windows down, sun roof back, going 90 down the freeway, and my grandmother could hear me perfectly with the only effort on my part to talk just loud enough to be heard over the wind. (As opposed to screaming against the wind...)

This right here...


...is military-grade technology.

Throat mic reacts to the vibrations in your throat to transduce speech. I got to use one of these at a friend's house ( dad collected military shit ). Totally clear and totally wicked.

prices seem to range from 35 bucks to 80.