Editorial: Shut up and drive

Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006 | 7:28 a.m.

Technology has a way of making our lives easier and more complicated at the same time.

Take cell phones, for example. In barely 10 years they have become such a standard personal accessory that many people can hardly fathom how they ever got along without them. True, the ability to make or take a phone call no matter where one happens to be has helped vast numbers of Americans increase their mobility, personal freedom and safety.

But freedom has a price. And in the case of cell phones and people using them while driving motor vehicles, Nevada Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, has decided that cell-chatting while driving is risking too many teenagers' lives. According to a recent story by the Las Vegas Sun, Manendo has requested a bill that would require teens to use only hands-free earpiece transmitters while driving.

While Manendo told the Sun that his bill is merely "a first step, and it needs debate," many people probably have firm beliefs about this already one way or the other. One teen told the Sun that she thinks the ban ought to include drivers of all ages. Nevada's police chiefs and sheriffs don't support most cell-phone bans because existing laws require drivers to pay attention. Even without phones, drivers still would be distracted by activities such as eating, applying makeup, changing CDs or fumbling with pets or global-positioning systems.

And recent studies have shown that the act of talking on a phone is similarly distracting whether the device is hand-held or hands-free. Banning one type of phone doesn't make sense.

Lawmakers have some homework to do on this issue. This bill is loaded with good intentions to improve traffic safety and prevent crashes that can cause injuries or deaths. Public discussion and study of what types of activities are distracting Nevada drivers and causing wrecks is long overdue.

Driving is a not a right. It is a responsibility that comes with laws that say it is illegal for drivers to do something that distracts them. Cell phone, cheeseburger or Chihuahua - all can take a driver's attention away from the road. Perhaps a better solution is more stringent driver training and stricter enforcement of existing laws.