State govts ignore need for drivetime cell phone ban

Fact No. 1 is that cell phones are very distracting, not just distracting, while driving.

Fact No. 2 is that hands-free devices are NOT a safe alternative. Period.

Fact No. 3 is that self-centered American drivers insist on wanting to yack wherever, whenever, and that includes while driving as well as while in restaurants, etc.

Which leads to Fact. No 4, the refusal of state legislatures to ban cell phone use while driving. Add to that the hypocrisy of cell service companies like Verizon, which tell people not to talk while driving, yet oppose a ban.

Some people say, “I’m bored while driving,” especially if on the open road:

“I’m on the phone from when I leave the Capitol to when I get home, and that’s a two-hour drive,” said Tad Jones, the majority floor leader in the Oklahoma House, who helped block the legislation. “A lot of people who travel are used to using the phone.”

It’s called a radio or CD player or MP3 player.

Fact No. 5 is the typical American propensity to blame the other person:

“When we ask people to identify the most dangerous distraction on the highway today, about half — correctly — identify cellphones,” said Bill Windsor, associate vice president for safety at Nationwide. “But they think others are dangerous, not themselves.”

So, YOU hang up. Don’t wait for the other person. YOU hang up.

Read the full story, all six webpages, to see how serious the problem is and how much we really need …

Fact No. 7 — a ban on cell phone use while driving.