I work by a very busy intersection. In the whole week at my new job :), I have avoided being run down twice by a cell phone user who was running the red light. Yes.
In both cases, I noted they were not paying attention. The second guy ran it a full two seconds after the light turned red, and he was moving. Had I stepped out into the crosswalk as soon as the light changed, he would have mowed me down.
When I bicycled to work for six weeks during the bus drivers' strike, I was run off the road (illegally) three times by cell phone users. In one of these cases, I had to run up over the curb to avoid a woman talking on her phone, while yelling at her two kids in the back seat. In the middle of one of our biggest intersections. I fell and injured my knee. Was not impressed at all.
And yes, I did it myself in the past. Used the phone while driving. Guilty. But I will not do it again. Pull over, please. Don't have an accident on your conscience for the sake of being available every second of the day. Take a break from it while you drive. Focus.
A car can be a dangerous weapon. It only takes a split second, and life as you know it, could be over.
And that's my public service announcement for the day. heheh Sorry, Minimus. :s