The subject of texting while driving has been capturing headlines in the past few months. It's slowly becoming the topic of choice for some legislators. It certainly has a media spotlight on it. Governmental administrators are issuing forth edicts regarding texting while driving and other uses of cell phones.
Frankly, it didn't take me long to get really tired of this. Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that texting while driving is not compatible with safe driving. I'll admit, I've Blackberried while driving in the past - and yes, it is distracting and dangerous. I agree - we should not be doing it.
I've heard some amazing statistics and comparisons, things "like texting while driving creates a worse driving environment than driving while drunk." I'm not so sure about that, but I do know that most people don't text all the way home from a bar, and they can stop texting at any time. You really can't stop being drunk on your way home.
Here's the problem that I have with this ... why is texting while driving getting all the attention? What about the driver that I stopped a few months ago who was holding a bowl of cereal with one hand, eating the cereal with a spoon in the other hand, and driving 50 mph using the knees. Gotta be just as dangerous. What about the driver who was shaving (with an electrinc razor), the driver who was putting on mascara, or the driver who was reading the newspaper (with the newspaper open and covering about 1/3 of the windshield)? How about the driver who was turned around yelling at children in the back of the SUV?
All these are equally dangerous ... and all these are unlawful. Once upon a time, we realized that when you are driving, well, you should only be driving. So, we created traffic laws and wrote tickets for things like "full time and attention" and "distracted driving." We realized that if you undertook the responsibility of operating a vehicle, it included being aware of your surroundings and focusing on operating that vehicle safely. We didn't have a "no eating while driving" law. We didn't have a "no shaving or make-up while driving law." We didn't have a "no reading while driving law."
These laws are still in place, nothing has changed. When did we become a society in which we have to start individually listing all the "thou shall not while driving?" Can we go back to believing that a person in whom we have given the privilege to drive has enough common sense to drive safely, and if something is contributing to distracted driving, we already have law in which we can take appropriate action.
I'll accept the argument that texting is becoming very prolific in our society (I only need to check my monthly cell phone bill for the number of texts my son and daughter send and receive each month). I understand that for every driver who is reading while driving, there are probably 100 more who are texting while driving. I get that, and if the media wants to spotlight the problem, great. If politicians and organizational heads want to bring the safety issues to our attention, great. All I am saying is, we don't need new rules and new laws to surgically address a specific issue that is really just a fresh coat of paint on an old problem.
Unfortunately, the overkill begins ... to legislate or make rules regarding all electronic distractions which has a significant impact on public safety. And that, my friends, is a topic for another day.