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Last
week, the state Senate’s Law, Public Safety and
Veteran’s Affairs Committee unanimously approved
legislation mandating that New Jersey motorists be permitted
to use only hands-free cell phones while driving. I
am a liberal, a supporter of and former campaign coordinating
attorney for Governor McGreevey, and a political commentator.
As such, I almost always support Democratic Party initiatives.
But, on this issue, I strongly disagree.
Instead,
I agree with conservatives who oppose the continual
and unnecessary interference of government regulation
in our lives. This is just one more paternalistic motor
vehicle regulation from Big Brother State Government,
which is convinced that I cannot drive safely, talk
on the phone and chew gum at the same time. A blanket
ban on non-hands-free cell phones is overbroad and unnecessary.
It is merely grandstanding and window dressing by politicians,
unless they are willing to comprehensively address all
driving distractions.
Even
hands-free cell phones must be dialed and hung up. Perhaps
we should ban car radios, which must be set by looking
at them. Talk radio should be banned, as after all,
I could be distracted by an enthralling or controversial
political debate on WABC or NJ 101.5, if not by a good
song on FM radio. How many times have you seen a driver
next to you singing along to the radio? Isn’t that
distracting them from their driving? Maps should be
illegal as well, unless they are talking maps, which
read the directions for themselves. Maybe the state
should mandate the use of OnStar?
Possession
of mascara in an automobile must also be made a criminal
offense. How many times in morning traffic have you
seen women applying make-up on their way to work? At
least I can talk on the phone and watch the road. Try
applying mascara while doing that.
We
must certainly also ban all eating and drinking in cars,
and I guess we need to force fast food restaurants to
close their drive-through lanes. A driver with a hot
cup of coffee is a dangerous driver. Try it for yourself
some time. Eating a juicy burger is high risk behavior
for the well-dressed driver.
Maybe
we should regulate work hours as well, since people
working second jobs are more likely to be tired on the
road. No doubt about it. Sleepy, inattentive drivers
are dangerous.
Frankly,
police officers, who the state would have ticket me
for use of my cell phone are themselves, some of the
biggest offenders of cell phone use while driving.
So,
here is my suggestion: I promise to do my best to drive
attentively, without Big Brother’s selective regulation
of my conduct. Maybe we should all just take a pledge
to do the same. Maybe we just need to accept the fact
that there are many road distractions and that it is
just a part of life that responsible adults must deal
with. And a part of driving.
October
19, 2002
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