"Nationwide Cell Phone Ban for Drivers Urged"

"A leading consumer safety organization is calling for a nationwide ban on drivers using all cell phones and other messaging devices.

"While there are a few state and local laws banning drivers from using hand-held cell phones, the National Safety Council (NSC) believes it's time to make it unanimous."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011101959.html


I know that a lot of people find cell phones convenient (some would say necessary, I'm sure), but I have had many close calls with drivers distracted by cell phones, easily a dozen wherein the other driver is still unaware that he/she cut me off or otherwise endangered others. They are oblivious when they are on the phone, just as bad or worse than drunk drivers.

Driving skills have dropped markedly and the number of vehicles on the road has increased. This is obvious to anyone who has driven for a few decades. Traffic law enforcement is all but nonexistent in Racine, usually occurring only after an accident has already taken place. (I recently got into an argument with a cop over this. He told me that they're too busy with "important" crimes to deal with traffic. What a farce the law is in Racine. No wonder so many ignore it.) Driving today is a major chore because so many drivers are incompetent.

I'm sure that just as the Tavern League comes to the defense of the thousands of drunk drivers that they turn loose on us every day, the cell phone companies will fight any attempts to regulate the use of their products. If nothing else, if you drive and use a cell phone, then the law should require that your phone number be stenciled on the back of your vehicle, like those How Am I Driving? stickers. That way, when I get home, I can call you up and tell you how you cut off six other vehicles and nearly ran down five pedestrians while you selfishly yammered on the phone.