The trend worries some car safety experts who say the gadgets distract drivers.

Typically, city officials say that the twirlers not only pose a traffic hazard by distracting drivers, but also create blight.

Flash photography is also forbidden as it may distract drivers and disrupt fire-detection equipment.

Billboards have long been accused of distracting drivers and causing accidents.

Others take the contrary view; that they are irrelevant, and encourage a dangerous practice which distracts drivers from their primary task.

The program was preceded by a phase where transit operators called out stops, which led to debate over whether this would distract drivers from the road.

Untrustworthy voices, research has shown, tend to distract drivers.

A larger problem, of course, is distracted drivers.

Even using the radio can distract drivers and cause accidents.

Supporters of such bans say that the phone conversations distract drivers and make them more likely to harm themselves and others.