Many states have similar laws, but they don't help. This seems counter-intuitive, but the real problem is not that they are looking at the phone. (Yes, that's a problem, but there is a bigger problem.)
I did not believe this when I saw the first such report more than 20 years ago, but I have read enough and seen enough since then to be convinced.
Here's what the research shows - it's the conversation itself that is distracting.
Studies have shown that any conversation in the car is a distraction. The degradation that a conversation in the car causes to your reaction time and driving skill might surprise you. But, for reasons not yet understood, when the conversation is with someone OUTSIDE the car, the degradation is far worse, and this holds true regardless of whether the phone is in your hand or using hands free.
I have been in the cellular phone business since it was a baby, more than 40 years now. I have followed this issue from the beginning. The first report I mentioned above came out of some university in Toronto, and I flat refused to believe it. I figured it was someone with an agenda. But it's been confirmed over and over again.
Yes, some moron with his face full of porn on his phone is a danger to all around, but just talking on hands free makes you drive as badly as if you were legally intoxicated.
