I have driven while on a cell phone before and I can say that you DO get distracted. I try to keep it to a minimun or not at all. I was rear ended twice by a driver a couple of years ago when I was about 6-months pregnant. The driver didn't even have the courtesy to get off of the phone after it happened, to see if me and my friend was okay.I have also been run off of the road by another driver who was on his cell phone and was oblivious to everything around him. I would like to see a ban nationwide on drivers on cell phones. Also around here the police cannot stop someone on a cell phone unless that person has broken a driving law.

Also, I do drive around with my can loose in the car. She learned her lesson by not getting between the pedals and the floor. She got squeezed once when I had to brake and she hasn't been there since. She will sit on my lap or in the back seat. I have been doing this before I could drive by watching my mother. I do have a pet carrier and if the need arised, I would use it.