Hi,

The people you see erratically on the road talking on cell-phones
aren't the only people on the road talking. Think about it a bit.
You/we only notice the 'cell-phone drivers' who are incapable of
multi-tasking because ther ARE erratic. Try looking at each driver as
you pass them or are being passed. You will be surprised to find the
majority of cell-phone talker's driving is normal.

It may be as normal as most (moderatly) drunk driving. You can and usually
make do make it home even if you are a bit woozy.

We have had quite a bit of public discussion here in Germany and a lot
of research. The result of that research after being filtered through
the legislative jungle is that using a mobile phone without hands-free
equipment while driving is now forbidden. It is also widely accepted
that using a telephone _at_ _all_ while driving is a hazard, so if there
is an accident and it is discovered that one of the drivers was one the
phone he is very likely to be assigned at least part of the blame for it
by a judge even if he was using it hands-free.

It is also interesting to note that talking to a person that is physically
present seems to be not at all that demanding. So there is no pressure to
regulate normal conversation in cars :-).

I do not believe however that this research can easily be extended to
aircraft. Mainly because the allowed time to react is generally much
shorter on the road than in the air.

Ciao, MM
--
Marian Aldenhövel, Rosenhain 23, 53123 Bonn. +49 228 624013.
http://www.marian-aldenhoevel.de
"Ich hoffe Sie können mir helfen. Ein Freund hat mir einen tollen
Bildschirmschoner aufgespielt, aber jedesmal wenn ich die Maus bewege
ist er weg."