Banning
all uses of mobile phones in cars would be the most
pointless and universally ignored law since Prohibition.
On
the other hand, a national mandate requiring hands-free
phones for conversations in a moving vehicle will make
America’s roads safer.
The
technology exists to make safe phone calls from your
car. Hands-free systems are available in nearly every
new vehicle, at little or no extra cost. Our laws should
encourage drivers to use that technology.
Mobile
phones are omnipresent. Virtually every adult and many
kids have one. No law will change the fact that people
expect to remain in touch while they’re behind the
wheel.
It’s
the job of government and automakers to create policies
and vehicles that operate safely within that reality.
A
total ban on phone use in cars would breed contempt for
the law and saddle overworked police officers with an
unnecessary responsibility that would keep them from
more important work. It also would be unenforceable:
Imagine the old 55-mph speed limit, only without radar
detectors. The police would have to peer into every car
to figure out who was in violation. A ban also would
increase driver distraction as people sneaked phone
calls, used speakerphones that weren’t designed for
cars, and constantly watched for police cars instead of
concentrating on their driving and having a normal
conversation.
Nearly
every automaker would wholeheartedly support a ban on
handheld phones.
"Research
shows that hands-free, voice-activated technology
significantly reduces … risk," Ford Motor said in
a statement Tuesday.
There’s
no turning the clock back. We can and should embrace the
new technologies to go full speed ahead.
Mark
Phelan:
