The Issues, No. 35 - Cell Phones and Driving

I can't imagine why our local, state, and federal governments don't do something to outlaw using cell phones while driving a car. It's bad enough that some people eat, drink, do their hair and makeup, and even read while driving, all of which also should be outlawed, but the use of cell phones has gotten out of hand. Law enforcement people know their use is dangerous, government leaders know it's dangerous, politicians know it's dangerous, and yet no one does anything about it.

We've got 16 year olds, who have no experience driving, who think they're indestructible, out there driving around the way teenagers do making calls and texting in addition to all the other non driving things they do while driving. But we've also got a whole lot of adults who think they know how to do it safely making calls and texting also. And I guarantee that none of them will understand the consequences of what they are doing until they kill, maim, or otherwise seriously injure other people.

It's just plain common sense that when you are driving a car you need to pay attention to your driving. Anything else you do is a distraction and the slightest distraction when you are going at high speeds, or any speed for that matter, may cause you not to be able to react when you need to in order to slow down, stop, or otherwise avoid a collision. When people in our country are doing things that endanger the lives of others, it should be the responsibility of government to make those things illegal. And whose rights are violated anyway when a person on their cell phone causes an accident in which someone else is killed? I think it's time for our governments and politicians to take their heads out of the sand and do something about this very dangerous practice.