I think talking on phones is more distracting than somebody in the car with you. In the car, you are having the same experience. Your passenger (surely?) isn't going to crack a joke to you just as you pull out to overtake. You aren't going to be straining to catch what they said, or trying to work out what that strange background noise was.
Somebody posted a video on CC a while back of a driver so engrossed in the conversation she was having on her mobile that she completely failed to notice that the cyclist with the camera was riding alongside her and gathering evidence! It wasn't just for a couple of seconds either. It must have gone on for at least 20-30 seconds and she was totally unaware of what was going on outside her car. Was she really driving with 'due care and attention'?
The law should be tightened up to do away with the loopholes. While driving, if you are holding a phone or a map or a razor or a book or lipstick or a drink or food or... then you are breaking the law; that's how it should be.
The last thing we want is police officers making random subjective judgements. "Well, the driver was only doing 32 mph in a 40 mph limit and the phone was only in his hand for a few seconds and he was about 40 yards from the cyclist, so I thought it was probably safe" - no thanks!
