While talking on the phone while driving why are hands free devices legal?

They are not legal everywhere - the company I work for (a Fortune 100 company) forbids use of a cell phone at all when driving... people have been fired for violating that policy. The distraction comes from speech processing, and "hands free" is widely regarded as dangerous as holding the phone to your ear. Passenger conversation is about as bad.

Like you have never driven with the radio on either? Geez think before you post. I guess deaf people shouldn't be allowed to drive in your world too?

What kind of ****** up logic is that?

Having your hands free doesn't impair your hearing.

"Hands-free". It means what it says.

You would definitely hear it. They are legal because the purpose of the law is that your hands are full and it can easily cause a car crash.

The hands free device would have to be extremely loud to block out the noise of a siren and considering that deaf drivers are statistically no more likely to crash than hearing drivers, not being able to hear does not seem to be as dangerous as many people think.

The primary concern should be how distracted the driver is by the conversation, but since it can be argued that it would be no different than talking to a passenger, law makers would have to outlaw both in order for it to stand up in court and that would be unenforceable for obvious reasons.

Using that logic you wouldn't be allowed to speak to people in your car or listen to music.

The law is based on earlier research and public outrage, not current research and common sense. As FlagMichael says, people are distracted by thinking about something else. I doubt anyone would agree to a law that forbids talking to passengers or adjusting the climate control while driving, or looking at house numbers instead of the road, and handheld phones were low-hanging fruit. Me, I see less problem in reading a text stopped at traffic lights than in changing the radio station with a touch screen on the highway.

You won't hear it with the radio turned up or with screaming kids in the back seat either.

you must be a doof doof person you shouldn't be on the road as your all ready deaf most normal people don't have the volume up that loud and aren't all ready deaf so they can hear whats around them.

You forgot, fads rule.

Who gives a rats *** about emergency vehicles? I always blare my music loud and hear a siren if it was next to me!