Driving while intoxicated is against the law because you don’t have the same reaction time that you have when you are sober, which makes you a dangerous driver.  Driving with a cell phone is legal, however, even though having a new fangled cell phone is like driving with a personal computer in front of your face.  How’s your reaction time when you are busy shopping on the internet using your cell phone?  You are more concerned with putting your credit card number into the keypad than you are about the line of stopped traffic ahead of you on the freeway.

If the law won’t say it, somebody has to.  Driving with a cell phone and a credit card are dangerous and the auto manufacturers should have a warning label posted right next to the radio dial (because you have to turn the radio down to hear on the cell phone).  Why not?  They post warnings about the dangers of allowing children to ride in the front seat because of the airbag hazard.  They post warnings about the proper way to wear a seat belt.  It’s just one more warning for teenage drivers to ignore.

Actually, auto manufacturers, cell phone companies, and the law have recognized this problem.  In some states it has become illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving in your car.  But you are allowed to have an earpiece and use the hands free option to talk.  If you are paying bills over your phone while driving, even with the earpiece, you still have to hold your credit card up and read it, distracting you from being a safe driver.

The cell phone companies and auto manufacturers must be working together to solve the problem of the dangerous use of cell phones while driving.  New cars are coming with cell phone docks pre-installed in the cars, but the docks don’t work for every phone, so the cell phone companies have adaptors to work in the docks.  The docks turn your cell phone into a speaker phone, or you can use your wireless Bluetooth earpiece to chat.  The only thing missing is a credit card holder on the dash where you can read the numbers aloud while keeping an eye on the road.

All of these features and fixes are nice, but how about educating our youth a little better about safe driving habits?  Shouldn’t the cell phone problem be a major part of driver’s education these days?  Perhaps it is in some courses, and if so, thank you!  But let’s educate the parents of the teens with cell phones, too.  Make sure that parents are fully aware of the dangers their teens are putting themselves in and putting others in when they are allowed to drive with their cell phones.  Parents may think their teens don’t listen to them, but they would be surprised at how much they do listen, especially when you are talking about their most precious possessions, their cars, their cell phones, and their credit cards.