New study says headsets don't make cellphone-driving safer

A new Australian study has confirmed what many anecdotal reports have said for years: driving when talking on a cellphone is dangerous, even if you're using a headset. The study — the first to cross-reference actual crash data with call logs — found that "there is no safety advantage associated with switching to the types of hands-free devices that are commonly in use." The results are likely to add fuel to the ongoing debate about banning cellphone usage by drivers; "[legislators are] most convinced by the tombstone count," one expert told The New York Times." Given the number of drivers we still see using handheld phones in states where it's already illegal to do so, we somehow don't think changing the law will make much of a difference.