Is there a limit on legislating people’s
driving habits? That’s Mike Rosen’s question in the Opinion section of the Rocky Mountain News. He
addresses another piece by Mark
Lieberman who apparently is outraged over the lack of public outrage on cell phone use by drivers.
Rosen
points out that driver distractions, whether by cell phone or crying children, is nothing new to drivers. Who
hasn’t seen someone (or have done themselves) changing CDs; singing; oogling that attractive guy/gal; or arguing
while driving?
The important thing is the degree to which the driver is distracted by their non-driving
activity. Is talking on the cell phone the same as reading the newspaper while barreling down the highway? Rosen also
asks how far to take banning “distractions”: ban smoking while driving? Chewing gum? (As a personal aside,
I once worked in a wireless telephone company and saw a study on driving distractions. Number one on the list?
Eating, followed by putting on make-up, shaving, and reading while driving.)
Finally, Rosen points
out the difficulties in enforcing such laws.
What’s your view?