i dont think its conflicting laws but more the way each individual police officer interpretes the law, that and when they hand out a defect notice 9 out of 10 ppl will just pay it to save the hassle's, either that or they just dont know.
my gf was tell me one of her friends got booked for brushing her hair at a set of traffic lights, apparently you need to have at least one hand on the wheel at all times. that seems a bit over the top to me.