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By far and beyond, and without a doubt, the most corrosive and destructive element of cell phone usage is that of people who use them habitually while driving their vehicle. Personally, I do not do it as a general rule. This is not to say that I have not done it, but I'm a systems administrator at a hospital, and if my system goes down, it can cause major problems for a lot of physicians and as a result, their patient's care. So, I can't say that I never do it (talking on the phone while driving) But I will say that if I am not under duress, I do not do it. I will always pull off the road. Other people may feel that they can handle it fine, but I know from personal experience that it isn't safe for me. I recognize that something happens inside my brain while talking on a phone that is not conducive to driving a vehicle. Is very different, very different than speaking to someone in a car, listening to music, or even trying to eat a Taco Bell taco while driving. And I know from seeing other people, that this is not a unique experience for me. I see other people talking on their phone while driving, and it is clear to me that they have absolutely no idea what is going on around them because their mind is completely immersed in their conversation on the phone. It is very dangerous, as I'm going to relate.

I had an incident last year, and below is my account but I related to someone on Free Republic at the time:

I almost get creamed yesterday morning during my commute.

I have a nasty intersection I have to pass through on my way to work. As I approached the t-shaped intersection on the cross of the T, the person on the right was poised to pull out onto a busy road. She was already sticking out far enough into the road to impede traffic. In the diagram below, I am the red car, the poor fellow coming at me who almost gets rear-ended here is in the green car, and the dumb jerk is in the white big SUV.

Straight ahead of me, I saw a vehicle coming my way in the opposite lane who was taking a left down the same road I was taking the right on, and he is preparing to take a left.

That person coming at me was slowing down, obviously trying to let the person trying to pull into the intersection take their left before he turned into to the road she was coming out of. He still had some forward speed, but was timing it to keep rolling as she pulled out.

It seemed very easy to me. The SUV would pull out, the guy coming towards me would take a left, and without stopping, I could just take a right and follow right behind him. Perfect. Motorists working together to get to work efficiently.

I was slowing to take a right as well, so I flashed the lights, gave the right to left arm sweep repeatedly (Go ahead lady...pull out, everyone is waiting on you now!) but the vehicle doesn't move. I am getting closer and can see the driver more clearly now, wondering why she doesn't go, and you guessed it.

She is talking on her phone while pulling out into one of the worst intersections in my commute. Completely engrossed in the conversation while her face rotates blankly from side to side making it look like she is watching for an opening, but her eyes had this odd blank look, and you could tell one part of her was doing what she probably did every day, but the talking part was overriding her driving. Her eyes were simply not seeing the road, the cars and the traffic pattern. They were seeing something in the phone conversation.

Predictably, she then comes to life and suddenly realizes she should pull out, but has waited so long a vehicle is on her other side coming from her right in the lane she is going to pull into after she cuts across mine.

She jerks her SUV (Frikking huge Lincoln Navigator) into the intersection and the guy coming up the other side slams on his brakes and almost gets rear-ended. She stops, blocking my lane, all the way out.

I had my signal on the whole time to take the right, and now I came to a complete stop wondering what the hell she is going to do. This is now very dangerous.

I decide to cut behind her and get the hell away from that soon to be glass littered intersection (I thought). The less time you are around that, the less time you have to be plowed into.

So I step on it to go behind her, and the person in the opposite lane (BEHIND the guy who had been approaching and had to lean on his brakes) cuts sharply from his lane with obviously the same thought process I had, but...

...I could not see him and he could not see me. The two of us nearly met BEHIND that damned huge Lincoln Navigator, and we stared wide eyed at each other, both in completely the same shocked state. I wave him ahead of me, and he steps on it with excellent alacrity. He is clearly driving.

I look back at the woman driving this stupid Navigator, and...SHE IS STILL EFFING TALKING ON THE PHONE! Still sitting on top of the lane divider, both lanes stopped and traffic rapidly piling up in both directions, and...she is still looking from side to side talking.

Astounding.