Come to that, how many deaths have been caused by drivers using their phones?

I have seen reports about a US research project that estimated that the percentage of accidents where phone usage was implicated put the significance as: 80% due to phone usage and only 20% due to holding the phone.

Hands free, is not brain free. You visualise the person you are speaking to, and driving a car needs a lot of visualisation, and not such a distraction.

I used a phone once while driving and decided it was way too dicey. But then, generally, I use the phone to reply to voice messages - not to answer before the ringtone stops.

And I have seen adverts warning people not to cross the road while happytapping.