Can't agree, OG.
Tests have shown that simply taking part in a phone call can be as dangerous as drink-driving. It uses up a chunk of the brain's "processing power" leaving less available for the complicated task of driving safely. And it's not the same as a conversation in the car with someone sitting next to you. These can be adjusted to suit traffic conditions with the driver and the passenger easing the prrsuure of the conversation when road conditions require it. Phones should not be used in vehicles by drivers.
This is a lengthy report but the "Executive Summary" will probably suffice.
http://www.trl.co.uk/umbraco/custom/report_files/TRL547.pdf
Here's a couple of extracts:
"From the subjective mental effort ratings participants
made immediately after driving each route, it was clear that
they found driving while using a Hand-held phone to be the
most difficult. The easiest task was the normal driving without any phone conversations."
"Driving while intoxicated is clearly dangerous and this
study further confirmed that alcohol impairs driving
performance. However, this study also found that certain
aspects of driving performance are impaired more by using
a phone than by having a blood alcohol level at the legal
limit (80mg/ 100ml). It is concluded that driving behaviour
while talking on a phone is not only worse than normal
driving, it can also be described as dangerous."