The drumbeat to ban talking on a phone while driving continues in Chapel Hill. Researchers at the N.C. Highway Research Safety Center say talking on the phone while driving is a big distraction, according to this story.
Well, yes it is.
First, just because something is a distraction doesn’t mean it should be banned by the government. Doing so penalizes people in advance for causing a problem that hasn’t even occurred. If someone causes an accident because they were talking on a phone, stiff penalties should follow.
Second, I’ll give up my phone as soon as a companion law bans children from cars. As I’ve blogged previously, I frequently drive long distances on I-40, I-85, and the Durham Freeway. I have repeatedly been the near-victim of drivers who are doing everything under the sun to their kids while behind the wheel — yelling, scolding, singing, tickling, dressing, feeding, and reading — while drifting dangerously close to my vehicle. They are oblivious to the danger they pose to the rest of us.
Under the theory that distractions while driving should be banned by the government, children should be the first to go.
