Surely, most people have driven while running up the bill on their smartphone or PDA phone. And many haven't discovered the convenient and stress-free experience given by a hands-free kit. What they don't realize is how fatal talking and driving can be:

"To me, this legislation is the beginning, not the end," said Seattle's Andrea Okomski, whose son was left in a four-month coma three years ago after being struck by a driver chatting on a cell phone. She now heads up a crash-victim's advocacy group called Pedestrian Inroads.

To be fair, it's human nature to go the easy way. And in this case, that usually means speeding down the highway while taking a call, instead of pulling over. The fact is that most drivers consider stopping a waste of time. Even though driving with one hand while the other is holding the mobile makes it harder to react to sudden changes on the road. Such as a pedestrian suddenly appearing, or a vehicle abruptly stopping. So the best move is to buy a headset. The extra cost is worth it, because it can literally save lives.

And aside from talking and driving, being an SMS driver is also dangerous. On the road, safety must take precedence over passion.