Four U.S. towns have passed similar bans. Brooklyn, Ohio, was the first in March 1999. Three similar laws in Pennsylvania followed, triggered by the November 1999 death of two-year-old Morgan Lee Pena, killed in Hilltown when a driver using a cell phone ran a stop sign and hit the car driven by her mother. Twenty-seven state legislatures in America considered cell phone bills in 1999, but none has been passed. Legislation is pending in six American states.

However, cell phones are just one distraction and more research is needed on how well drivers can handle them, considering that humans have a very strong tendency to do several tasks at once. Also it is just not possible to concentrate one hundred per cent on driving while at the wheel. A learner might, but as the process of driving becomes automated, it does not take up full attention. Drivers converse with co-passengers, listen to radio, eat, smoke and at times even drink while driving. Proponents of cell phones argue that something as simple as changing a cassette tape in your car's stereo can be just as distracting.

Legislating against driver distractions is a tricky business, but the widespread use of cell phones has raised public fear about this technology and already a number of countries have passed laws restricting the use of phones in cars. Seventeen countries have enacted restrictions on cell phones while driving. Israel and Singapore, the strictest, have outright bans. According to an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to have an accident, the same chances as while legally intoxicated. A recent report from England indicates that it doesn't matter whether it is hand-held or hands-free phones, the result is the same: greater risk.

On the positive side, cell phones are credited with saving many lives. In America, more than half a million emergency calls are made each month on them. According to AT&T, more than 36 million such emergency calls are made every year. But new research suggests the risks may outweigh the benefits. A US study found that people who talk on the phone more than average run an almost five-times-greater risk of a traffic accident. Hence, the more you use your mobile in the car, the greater the risk. While using one, attention obviously wanders and accidents can result. How you drive is up to you, but it could affect your life as well as the lives of others on the road.