_____ing and Driving

Politics, Community & Society | September 5, 2011

Fill in the blank with whatever you like. Driving under the influence. Driving with an open container. Texting and driving. Speeding and driving. Talking on the cell phone and driving. Being screamed at by your passenger and driving.

All of those are arguably a cause for a traffic accident. All but the last one are a cause for a fine. In fact, it goes the other way. You get to use the HOV lane the more of these potentially disruptive creatures you put in your vehicle.

A bit schizophrenic, no? Drivers who are distracted by inert distractors are the problem, not those distracted by live distractors. If the lawmakers really are on the warpath against distracted driving, then go all the way. One person per vehicle. Alcohol interlock on the ignition. Mandate that cellphones have a GPS device in them that will disable them when they are moving faster than a human being can walk.

The issue is that lawmakers aren't really serious about the problem. What they are serious about is looking for things to tax. And the essence of the fines for all the mobile "offences" are yet one more tax. A tax that turns the police into revenue agents while annoying the population.

People always fall on a bell curve. There are those who are perfectly capable of multitasking a car and a texting device. And there are those who aren't. Those who aren't will find out soon enough as they plow their vehicle into a guard rail, vehicle or cow pasture. They will learn that just like walking and chewing gum, texting and driving is more than they can handle.

For those of us on the other end of the bell curve, it is nothing but one more waste of time and money.