HARRISBURG -- Multitaskers beware: If you catch up with friends while you commute, it may be time to add hands-free cell phone equipment to your shopping list.

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State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, is introducing legislation to prevent drivers from holding cell phones while they drive.

Violators would be fined $250.

"I'm not telling them they can't use their phones. I'm just telling them to use them in a safer way," Mr. Shapiro said at a news conference outside the Capitol yesterday. "It's time for Pennsylvania to step in and make roadways safer."

State Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, proposed similar legislation in 2002 but no action was taken.

Mr. Shapiro said his bill isn't much different, but he expects it will have a better chance of passing because lawmakers and others are more aware of the dangers of cell phone use.

The use of handheld cell phones contributed to more than 1,170 crashes in Pennsylvania in 2004 alone, Mr. Shapiro said.

A 2005 study commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 10 percent of drivers talk on some type of phone -- hands-free or not -- at any given time during daylight hours. Women and drivers under 24 were most likely to drive with handheld phones, according to the study.

Other research has shown that cell phone use inhibits the ability to brake quickly and maintain a constant speed.

Opponents of phone restrictions say talking on cell phones is no more distracting than eating, drinking coffee or changing radio stations in the car.

"There are all sorts of distractions in vehicles, but cell phones are the one that gets everyone's attention," said Jonathan Adkins, communications director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents highway transportation agencies, including the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. "You can't have a law for every unsafe driving behavior."

The focus on cell phones is OK with Verizon Wireless, the nation's second-largest wireless provider.

"We don't believe use of wireless devices should be singled out from other distractions. However, we do support any kind of legislation that is focused on reducing driving distractions, whatever they may be," said company spokeswoman Laura Merritt.

"Using hands-free devices is the proper way to use a wireless phone if a driver chooses to do so behind the wheel," she said.

Mr. Adkins said it isn't clear whether cell phone restrictions save lives and that they may distract police from enforcing laws that do save lives, including those relating to speeding, drunken driving and seat belts.

"We want law enforcement officers to focus on the laws we know are going to save lives and we don't know if cell phone bans will really do that," he said.

Mr. Shapiro believes it will.

So does Tracy Denson, 46, of Harrisburg, who was walking outside the Capitol yesterday and stopped to listen to Mr. Shapiro's news conference.

"Twice I've had people hit my car because they were talking on cell phones. Once it was at a red light and I could see her coming but I couldn't go anywhere so I just watched her drive right into the back of my car," Mr. Denson said.

He said Mr. Shapiro's legislation doesn't go far enough. Drivers should not be allowed to use cell phones at all, he said.

Mr. Shapiro, who has 30 sponsors for his legislation, isn't willing to go that far.

His proposed restriction "preserves people's rights and liberties to use cell phones when needed," he said.

Pat Healy, 48, of Moon, a director with the law firm of Cohen & Grigsby in the Westinghouse Building, Downtown, travels a lot as part of his job. Chances are, he said, if he's in the car for any length of time, he's going to either receive or make a call on his cell phone.

He does have a wireless ear piece, he said, but when interviewed yesterday, he had just concluded a call on his hand-held phone -- while driving.

"I do try to use the ear piece," he said. "I see other people on cell phones, and I get upset with some of the driving they do. I think for safety reasons, I would make the extra purchase to go hands-free because I think it's a good thing.

"I've seen people come close to being an accident, come close to hitting me, cut me off. And most of the time it's somebody on a cell phone."

Mr. Healy said he would support a ban on hand-held phones.

"An outright ban of any phone use in the car is too extreme. I think there's a happy medium and a hands-free device is that happy medium."

On the other hand, cab driver Bob Sammel, 54, of Carnegie, said he'd be in favor of a ban on drivers using any cell phone devices.

"Driving's a full-time job -- for everybody, not just me," he said. "It takes your total concentration. The less distraction, the better. And they're nothing but a distraction."

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says an overall ban would be impossible to enforce, yet partial bans, like the one Mr. Shapiro proposed, are ineffective.

"I don't know of a workable solution," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Arlington, Va.-based institute, which is funded by auto insurance companies.

Research commissioned by the institute shows that drivers using hands-free phones are just as likely to be in an accident as those using handheld phones.

"The conversation is the major distraction, not handling the phone," Mr. Rader said.

New York, in 2001, became the first state to require drivers to use hands-free devices when they talk on their phones. Connecticut, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., soon followed with similar laws and last week, Chicago passed a municipal restriction that takes effect in July.