Cell Phones and Driving

By kate on January 25th, 2000

I am so fed up with people saying that it should be illegal to talk on cell phones in cars.

Yes, talking on a cell phone means you only have one hand on the wheel. But that happens when you’re eating in the car, changing the radio station, or simply resting one of your hands somewhere else.

Yes, having a conversation on a cell phone may distract you a little. But so does having a conversation with your passengers. So does listening to talk radio, being tired, or simply getting lost in your own thoughts.

We can hardly make all the other things I mentioned illegal, and cell phones are no worse. I think this furor is a thinly-veiled class issue. Those who don’t have cell phones see those who do as snobby rich people and resent them flaunting their expensive gadgets on the road.

I can understand that feeling, but I lose my sympathy when it is taken far enough that people want to pass laws against what they don’t like without a truly compelling reason.