States Hung Up on Cell Phones

Under the guise of highway safety, state legislatures across the country are moving to ban or limit cell phone use in automobiles. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, nearly 100 bills have been introduced in 38 states this year, as more and more lawmakers are blaming cell phone distractions for motor vehicle accidents and fatalities. Proposed legislation ranges from outright bans on cell phones while driving to requiring that the cellular devices be hands-free. But is this latest push to target cell phones really necessary?

Supporters of such legislation go so far as to argue that the distractions to drivers using cells phones can be as lethal as drunk driving. However, studies show cell phones have actually improved highway safety and have saved lives, as motorists are making millions of emergency calls per year to report hazardous road conditions, summon medical attention to accident scenes, seek help in other emergency situations and report drunk, impaired or reckless drivers. In addition, as hands-free technology becomes more reliable and less expensive, it will soon become the norm, without government intervention.

Bottom line is, we do not need new laws banning cells phones anymore than we need laws against other potential distractions to drivers — eating, changing the radio station, traveling with pets or putting on makeup. There are already laws on the books in all 50 states that punish reckless or careless driving. These laws give law enforcement officials broad authority to cite motorists for irresponsible behavior behind the wheel. Lawmakers should spend more time ensuring enforcement of these reckless driving statutes, rather then penalizing only cell phone users.

New laws limiting cell phones will not make our roads noticeably safer. Such laws will only serve to make scofflaws out of the nearly 100 million people in this country who subscribe to cellular technology, most of whom do so responsibly. Not to mention that such laws will lead us down the slippery slope, further empowering the government to take away more of our freedoms.

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