It has been argued that the distraction caused by using mobile phones while driving is responsible for many road traffic accidents. Several studies have shown that motorists have a much higher risk of collisions and losing control of the vehicle while talking on the mobile telephone simultaneously with driving, even when using “hands-free” systems. But it is much better to use these and other bluetooth devices instead of not using them at all. So when the iPhone arrives next year buy the iPhone auto accessories as well and try not to talk directly on the phone without handfree.
One study of 699 Canadian drivers showed a rate of collision four times higher when using a mobile phone than when a mobile phone was not being used. A study in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that drivers who used mobile phones while driving were four times more likely to crash than those who don’t, a rate equal to that for drunken driving at the 0.01 g/dL blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level.
An experiment conducted by the American television show MythBusters concluded that use of mobile phones while driving poses the same risk as someone operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.