Cultural Quickie: Cell Phones and Driving

You cell phone opponents may rejoice, as Japan is one country that has actually gone through with banning, or at least severely limiting, the use of cell phones while driving. And yes, the Japanese are just as attached to their cell phones as Americans and the like tend to be, if not more so. And while most of the time the Japanese will follow the law of not using phones on public transportation, they can't quite seem to let go while in their own private vehicle. This doesn't mean they just drive and talk, but rather in a Japanese-style obedient adherence to the law, they simply pull over to the side of the road when they receive a call. Many a times I'll be on a little town road and see someone pulled over with their emergency flashers on, chatting on a cell phone. Quite often the car won't have quite enough room to pull over fully, so it creates a bit of a hazard for other cars trying to get by. Basically, I wouldn't be surprised if people pulling over to use their cell phones caused more accidents then people talking while driving, though I have no evidence that proves as such. Now I think it may be ok to have a hands-free setup and drive, but that usually means knowing in advance when a call was coming or making a call, so don't that too often.