>The counter argument is that while it is easy to let go of the phone when things get tricky.
And the counter-argument to that is that things can get tricky faster than you would expect. So tricky that even the time it takes for you to react and put your phone down or drop it still wouldn't give you enough time to prevent an accident.
People need to stop paying attention to phones while driving, period.
There's also pressure from phone calls that you don't get when you're talking to someone in the vehicle: people on the other end can't see the traffic situation, so they don't know to shut up and let you drive, and there's social pressure on the driver to not let their surroundings distract them away from the phone call.
I have several times in my life thrown my phone out of reach with no regard for who's on the call
They understood, later. They weren't necessarily happy but when you explain to people "do you want me alive or do you want me to talk to you", their self-interest seems to kick in, at least.
And the counter-argument to that is that things can get tricky faster than you would expect. So tricky that even the time it takes for you to react and put your phone down or drop it still wouldn't give you enough time to prevent an accident.
People need to stop paying attention to phones while driving, period.