You are so very very correct and I have to admit that I am guilty of cell phone activity while driving. In retrospect, my attention to that which I should be attentive, is less than astute and dangerous. Sometimes after disengaging from a cell phone call, looking around, I wonder how I got that far without realizing it.
Taking your advice I will not talk on my cell phone any longer.
Thank you for this article.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. But alas, I think we are in the minority.

Amen Jeff! If I had a dollar for every time I've passed up a driver blabbing on his/her cell phone, I could have retired years ago. I used to have a bumper sticker that said, "Hang up and drive!" My guess is that the cell phone users were too busy yapping to ever notice that bumper sticker.

Some people cannot go twenty minutes without being on their cell phones. When the day comes that they have an electronic cell phone chip implanted in their inner ear, it might be tough enforcing this ban; they might appear to just be regular terrible drivers!

This has certainly gone way over board. It would really upset a lot of us who CAN talk and drive! Maybe ban talk and drive for the 25 and under crowd?

So...another Jeff Ward "Ban it!" column. Fire pits, beauty pageants, girls' athletic uniforms that displease him...and now cell phone use in cars. No balance, no compromise...just ban them.
Interesting approach to any issue. Not very democratic, but authoritarian boobs usually just want their way, and ignore any argument to the contrary.

Everyone is on the phone on the road all day. Most all of them know they CAN talk and drive but the very point is they do not realize, sadly, that they CAN NOT. It's not just the younger crowd. It's the delivery drivers, parents picking up kids at school, the driver backing out of a parking space at Target, the driver who thinks they are in total control, but it is not true at all.

There is no cell phone use in school zones already. I don't doubt my abilities -maybe you do?

I'm convinced anyone who doesn't "doubt there abilities" couldn't drive on a cell phone on their best day.

Really? That's odd. Maybe you're transferring your own insecurities on to others? In over 35+ years of driving, I can assure you, I'm confident in my abilities.

You can't legislate common sense.

In a crowding park lot trying to park or leave?
On a snow-packed or slippery road?
In a residential area with parked cars along the street and lots of kids playing?

Stay off the phone until you're out of these situations or pull over and then talk.

But don't ban those with common sense from using cell phones while driving. And stop with the Mythbusters thing. It was a non-scientific test under very specific circumstances with an insanely small sample size - hardly proof of anything.

Paul,

Though it was fun to include the Mythbusters video, that study has been confirmed over and over.

Here's to the NTSB!

Jeff

Easily half of the parents dropping off and picking up children at both the schools I am at during the week are on the phone. People don't care about the laws, recommendations, evidence etc. , because they know they have it under control. It is all about personal responsibility.

Jeff,
I agree completely with your stance on phoning and driving. I stopped talking on my cell phone in the car, with or without a hands-free device, the day I pulled into the driveway and realized that, while I remembered perfectly my entire phone conversation, I remembered not one inch of the roadway on which I had been driving. I was completely absorbed in my phone conversation. That scared me enough to stop. I love my family too much to leave them widowed and motherless.

Jeff-I disagree with the ban because it's more government intervention into our lives. Enough already, and people will ignore it anyway. Has anyone driven on the streets of Chicago where phone use is already banned? Just another money maker for the city....but please people, put down the darned phone and pay attention to your driving. Enough already--and especially moms in vans! I know you want to talk to your kids and your girlfriends, but PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD.

After 35 + years of driving I know absolutely when and where I should pay attention to the road - and without a doubt, never to expect or trust other drivers to obey all the traffic laws, and to pay extra attention near schools and other areas where there is heavy pedestrian traffic. Accidents happen and common sense can be fleeting when you are distracted.

Jeff, you said, "Just as I’ve 911-ed three drunken drivers, I’ll be more than happy to rat out these folks, too. And once they realize their fellow motorists are willing to drop a dime on them, they’ll get a clue pretty quickly."

I'm just wondering if you would use you cell phone to rat them out or write on a piece of paper while driving?

Hahahahahahaaaaaa! Good one. Funny.:)

I have been driving semi trucks, heavy and light wreckers for the better part of 40 years, much of it before the proliferation of cell phones. I have witnessed and cleaned up many serious accidents, including quite a few fatalities. I have seen the results first hand of in-attentive drivers. I have seen young people and children severely injured and maimed, many for life. Granted, one may argue the many causes, but in more recent years more and more of them are being caused by unnecessary cell phone usage. Unfortunately many cell phone users do not even realize they have caused an accident at all. One can never say for sure what part of the road commands more attention than another as one cannot be sure of another's actions. An outright ban would be an enforcement nightmare, however, should one be involved in an accident causing serious bodily injury or death, the driver's cell phone records should be checked and if found that the phone was in use for any reason, their license should be suspended immediately for an extended period of time.

Yes- please ban all phone use while driving !

Studies by the NHTSB, AAA and various state DOT's have all implicated distracted driving as a contributor to accidents. Interestingly, there is no difference between talking on the phone or talking to a passenger in the car when it comes to accident data.
Therefore the government should ban all talking (and singing along to the radio, for that matter - since it would be impossible for an observing officer to discern between singing and talking).