Preface: I will admit right up front that talking on a cell phone can be distracting and I am by no means advocating the law should be abolished.

In my home state, you can be ticketed for talking on a cell phone while driving. But what confuses me is what part of talking on a cell phone is the problem?

The act of talking: You are permitted to talk to passengers in the car. You are permitted to talk if using "hands free". You are permitted to talk on a CB radio. So talking does not seem to be the issue.

Holding the phone: From what I have experienced, and have heard from others, you can not physically hold the phone. It has to be in a cradle and/or mounted to the vehicle. But you are allowed to hold a soda and drink from it. You are allowed to shift a manual transmission. So using your hand should not be the issue.

Location of the phone: Let's say you are using bluetooth or headphones but the phone is just laying on your lap or on the console. It is not mounted in a cradle or to the vehicle. From what I gather, this is illegal. What happens if you are not even using the cell phone and it is just laying on the dash, is that legal? I know, items that not fixed can be a hazard but that does not make them illegal. Why does the fact I am talking on it or not change the hazard or if it is legal?

Dialing the number (manually) or texting: Granted, this is one of the more distracting issues with using a cell phone. However, you are allowed to type in an address on the GPS. Probably best to do it when stationary but still not illegal. You are allowed to dial in new stations on the radio. It seems to get really subjective/questionable when interacting with your phone while using it a s GPS. How is that any different that using a dedicated GPS?

Using a true hands free, voice activated system: I get the impression this is what insurance companies and law officials would like us to use. But I still think that talking on the phone, regardless of the method, is distracting. However, there are many other things a driver can do that is also distracting. Is it up to the driver to be responsible and pause said activity until they are in a more suitable situation to continue.

Conclusion: The improper use of cell phone ticket is confusing. It is OK in some scenarios but not others. The aspects that are prohibited are acceptable when doing the same thing with something other than a cell phone. So once again, it is very confusing. While justified to some extent, there are so many other things more dangerous that are still acceptable.