The NTSB recommended today what should be painfully obvious to most everyone by now. The use of cellphones while driving needs to be banned in every state. Penalties comparable to DUI violations need to be enforced. And this needs to be done now, not five years down the road. We don't need anymore studies to confirm what is already clear to everyone other than cellphone addicts. Their over-the-top sense of entitlement does not supersede our right to be relatively safe.
I drive about 16 miles per day. That's not much of a commute, particularly in the D.C. suburbs where people routinely spend hours in their cars getting to and from work. Yet, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see someone doing something dangerous while driving. And 90 percent of the time, I can see they are using a cellphone in some manner, texting, talking or using "smart" features like GPS. It's infuriating.
Any experienced driver with an ounce of sense and two eyes knows that cellphones have turned our roads into a nerve-racking, metal-crunching and often bloody adventure. Doesn't matter if you're driving to the corner to store or navigating along the interstates, the problem and the danger remain the same.
People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they can't drive safely while distracted by alcohol or hand-held gadgets. In fact, some people struggle with driving regardless if both hands are on the wheel and their sober eyes are on the road. But that's another issue with a more difficult fix. In a part of the country where the worse drivers reside (according to insurance industry studies, metro-D.C. has more accidents than anywhere else), many responsible people would welcome any rules that would make our roads safer.
Getting cellphone laws enacted should not be a heavy lift for any politician who isn't swayed by lobbyists. Of course, I am not sure there are many politicians left who aren't persuaded by greed. So this might not be the slam dunk it should be, particularly in states where "regulation" has become a dirty word, even if the regulation saves lives.
