Peter Orr

Americans are addicted to cell phones. Nevertheless, we generally understand our limitations of when we can and cannot use them. For example, I know that I can't shoot the breeze with one of my buddies on the phone while at a movie theater, witnessing Nemo and his father reunite, without suffering the dirty looks of those nearby wanting to kill me. But there is possibly an unfamiliar limitation coming to Washington State: No more talking on cell phones while behind the wheel.

On March 15 the Washington State Senate passed a bill by a vote of 28-18 seeking to eliminate the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. While hands-free headsets would still be permitted, the fine for being caught with a phone in hand could be upwards of $101. Driving while talking on a cell phone would be a secondary offense, and if passed, would go into effect beginning Jan. 1, 2006. It is known as Senate Bill 5160 and is yet to be approved by the state House and by Governor Christine Gregoire. Over 50 countries have some sort of cell phone restriction, yet the United States has been much more hesitant in adopting such limitations. After all, New York and New Jersey are the only states in America, in addition to Washington D.C., to currently require head-sets when behind the wheel (www.cellular-news.com). Nevertheless, banning hand-held cell phones is a needless law that would bring about severe inconveniences to the residents of this great state.

I bet most American drivers agree that wearing head sets do not solve any problems. The New England Journal of Medicine is only one of many associations to conduct a study on the benefits of hand-held vs. hands-free phones to find "no safety advantage" for one option over the other. After all, either way the driver is being distracted by the person on the other line. And who wants to pay $20.00 to buy needless technology anyway? The debate cannot be settled through compromise. Instead, we should be asking ourselves (and our representatives in Olympia) whether cell phones should be allowed behind the wheel as they are now, or if they should be prohibited completely. We need to have one or the other.

From my perspective, there is nothing wrong with people talking on their cell phones while driving a car. Recorded evidence proves that cell phones are rarely the main cause of accidents. In response to research that it conducted in 2001, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety determined that less than 0.2% of drivers in one specific study got in an accident because they were distracted by their cell phones (www.komonews.com). They were much more likely to get in a wreck from fiddling with their radio, jamming to music, or from being distracted by another person in the car. Just two years later, the same organization ranked cell phone usage as the ninth most likely activity to fatally divert the attention of American drivers. According to these statistics, using cell phones seems like a relatively insignificant factor in car safety.

I would like to think that I can trust people to be responsible while they are driving and that the government would not have to feel pressured to pass such a law. Senator Tim Sheldon, who is fervently opposed to SB 5160, commented that it is like "a big brother coming to rescue you in your car from yourself." Though our government is trying to improve safety, it is doing it in a way that proves it has no confidence in the way we conduct ourselves on the road.

I am sure that there are those, however, who still wish to go a step beyond SB 5160 and to eliminate all forms of cell phone communication from drivers. Point taken, but consider this: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2004 that approximately 8 percent of American drivers are talking on their cell phone at a given time during the day (www.iii.org). We are obsessed with our phones, and, I think, for good reason. I see nothing wrong with closing a business deal while on the way to work, or while in the midst of traffic, calling the office to let them know that we are going to be late for that important meeting. And there are always those emergencies when your phone might become quite useful at just the right time.

When it comes down to it, talking on hand-held cell phones is no more a distraction than singing along to the Beatles on a blaring stereo system. Passing SB 5160 would be a definite mistake and would pose a glaring contradiction to what we could be able to do in our cars while driving. What would be next? A "no-talking-to-passengers" law? Let's sure hope not!