The New York Times reports today that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) withheld research from 2003 indicating that using a hands-free device while driving provided only a “negligible” safety benefit compared with using a hand-held cell phone. According to interviews with key players, the research was withheld to avoid “antagonizing” Congress and, “to a much smaller degree,” the cell phone industry. You can view the full 266 pages of NHTSA’s report, finally released today, here. Or, to save time, read a summation of the report posted on the Consumer Reports Cars Blog.

The breaking news story comes three days after NYTimes.com hosted a Room for Debate forum, querying panelists, “Should cell phone use by drivers be illegal?” Weighing in was Consumer Reports’ own David Champion, our director of auto testing. While banning all cell-phone use outright “is probably an impractical solution” he wrote, “the best solution in the near term is to warn drivers with public service announcements of the risks involved with cell phone use and make the punishment for crashes caused by cell phone use extremely high.” (Read Champion’s full piece here.)

For the record, while our coverage Bluetooth headsets includes lab tests of voice clarity and other factors for a Ratings (available to subscribers), we do not test—or recommend—the use of Bluetooth handsets or integrated car systems while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

What’s your reaction to the news of the NHTSA report? Do you think talking on a cell phone adversely impairs your ability to drive? —Nick K. Mandle