Russia Puts Limits On Cell Phones

Russia's Prime Minister has issued a ban on using mobile phones without handsfree equipment while driving, a spokesman for Russia's traffic police said Tuesday.

The rule was designed to enhance safety on Russia's notoriously chaotic roads, which are often in poor repair and require hawk-like vision and concentration to spot hazards such as gaping potholes filled with water.

A Moscow traffic police spokeswoman agreed. "A mobile phone or a cigarette in the hands of a driver is a distraction, and a dangerous one," said spokeswoman Marina Vasilyevna.

Under the order signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, drivers may use mobile phones with earpieces and microphones that leave hands free to hold the wheel, but are forbidden to hold a phone to their ear and attempt to drive at the same time, according to the Interfax news agency.

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