let me try this out another way for the folks who resist the idea.
I'm in my early 30's. i've never had a ticket. i had a safe driving record for 12 years. one fender bender due to someone deciding at the last minute they really didn't want to merge as we were going onto the highway.
but there i was, in my late twenties. standing in the doctors office discussing my lack of balance, my vision issues, and inability to walk a straight line (sobriety test type) due to neurological illness. did my doctor have to take my license away by force? no. i had decided months before, after the ms attack that led to my diagnosis. i have not driven in more than four years now, because I KNOW i'd be a danger to others.
now, they didn't tell me that i could NEVER drive again. i know a lot of people with this disease that do drive. they also cause accidents, injuries, and all because of exercising their 'adult right' to drive. by the time their license is taken, its too late. same with seniors. sometimes, their 'adult' right at age 85 to kill ten people by mowing them down on the sidewalk should have been suspended whether they liked it or not.
would any of you want to get in the car with me behind the wheel? you shouldn't! i wouldn't ride with me! nor would i put any child, parent, or spouse of anyone out there at risk by being damned foolish enough to believe that my right to be able to go to the grocery store in the middle of the day instead of waiting for someone to give me a lift is more important than other people's lives.
unless you're being abducted at gunpoint there is no justifiable reason to use a cell phone in a moving vehicle. it's just not worth someone dying over, or worse, killing someone else, is it really? i know there are those would gladly argue this to the ground all day, i don't have the strength. i'm just trying to get people to think as are so many others in this thread.
i like the point someone made earlier (sorry i forget who) about drunk driving laws having to be put in place. still, people exercise their so-called right to drive drunk and kill or nearly kill people every stinking day.
maybe the people who feel so strongly about the cell phone issue have never been in a bad accident, or seen someone they love in one? curious to know if you have. i think maybe that might alter your perspective a little.
here's a couple links i hope ya'll will look at;
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-25-cellphone-usat_x.htm
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0005/31/nsst.00.html
there's a ton more but i think these make good points.
i'm not against people's right to make adult decisions. the thing is, when it is a definite risk to others, where does your right to order a pizza for dinner during rush hour traffic or trade a stock while getting lunch become as important as my family's right to live? sorry, to me, its not.
amazing how many other countries have made it law.and this is from four years ago:
International Action
Twenty countries now restrict or prohibit cell phones and other wireless technology in motor vehicles. These include Australia, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, England, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, the Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Delhi, India, and Hong Kong also impose restrictions on car phones.unreal. i hope the us catches up on this. new laws are not the Devil. as technology changes, god they're gonna have to come up with a lot more of them or people will die because others are text messaging or emailing their friends to meet them at the bar while driving.