I Give Up, I Think I’ll Just Stay Home

by Mike – 

The United States National Transportation Safety Board has recommended this week to ban the use of cell phones while driving.

I admit that I do get a little irritated when I see a driver, usually in a minivan with a bunch of kids, making a left turn through a busy intersection with one hand firmly planted on a cell phone pressed against the ear and the other hand steering. This is already illegal here in California, where I live. Only hands free cell phone use is allowed by a driver.

But a complete ban on the use of cell phones while driving – even a hands free cell phone? I think that is a law too far. The next step will be to ban the radio, CD players and iPods in the car.

I believe that listening to a talk show or singing along with Robert Plant is just as distracting as talking on a cell phone. Yes, I like to sing along with Robert Plant and the car is the only place where I can do this without frightening children and animals.

After the radio, CD player and iPod are banned from the car we will have to ban all talking between the driver and the passengers. This is just as distracting as the use of a cell phone and maybe even more so because the driver is tempted to look at the passenger while talking.

The solution is either to not allow passengers or to put the driver in a “cone of silence” like on the TV show Get Smart.

Cone of Silence

Then and only then will we be safe from the distracted driver and from ourselves. But wait there are road signs along the road and billboards that can cause the driver to be distracted – now what?

I give up, there is no solution that makes us perfectly safe while driving a 4,000 pound vehicle at legal speeds of up to 65 MPH surrounded by other drivers all doing the same thing.

I think I’ll just stay home, it’s the only safe thing to do.

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