Forty states are considering restrictions on wireless car talk, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which estimates 76.5 million people yak on cell phones while motoring. But fear not, fellow travelers. Technology offers some handy, hands-free solutions. From inexpensive headsets and speakerphones to voice-activated navigation systems that dial through the car stereo, drivers have a slew of options to keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. The phone slips into a dash-mounted cradle, and a microphone clips to the sun visor.
Little cords tie everything together.
General Motors, meanwhile, now offers personal calling with its OnStar satellite tracking service. The same hands-free system that enables subscribers to call for roadside help will carry cellular calls over Verizon's wireless network for 19 to 32 cents per minute. As lawmakers scramble to keep pace, some big guns in technology are focusing on voice recognition as the safest way to deliver information to the superhighway. If we can figure a way to do things safely, it will be a platform of the future. That's the idea behind docking ports that plug Motorola phones into stereos of Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar cars.