It does seem to me the problem isn’t so much the cell phone itself, but the lack of overall driver training.
Military pilots, as just one example, fly and talk at the same time over radio, switching frequencies as a matter of routine.
They are also monitoring a myriad of important engine indicators, checking fuel consumption, and navigating via map at places they’ve never been before, and in the dark at night - using night vision devices.
They don’t do it with a cell-phone stuck in their ear though - so a hands-free device like a bluetooth seems acceptable. Another whole issue not talked about much here - when I was stationed in Europe I noticed that drivers training is a serious affair. It costs the equivalent of several thousand dollars. The more training required, the more it costs. Night driving, city driving, night city driving, etc - it’s all very thorough. I don’t know what kind of drivers training is being conducted here these days, but clearly not much.
“Military pilots, as just one example, fly and talk at the same time over radio, switching frequencies as a matter of routine.”
Us ship-drivers did a bunch-o-tasks at the same time, too.
“It costs the equivalent of several thousand dollars.”
They have that in Japan, too. Don’t know about Europe, but in Japan it’s not so great. More of a racket. Recently licensed drivers are called “paper drivers,” as in, “a driver, but only on paper.”
It costed ~ $600 in Spain on the '80s for a license. I had an international one. A lot of those autopistas are built right on top of old Roman roads and have no bumps. I bought a used Seat 127 from a Chaplain who was retiring. That little 4 cyl car hauled ass in 4th gear. Europe is where you really, really learn how to drive.