A new bill will be reviewed next month in Florida that could ban texting while operating a moving vehicle following a new wave of legislative efforts to curb driving distractions. Not surprisingly, according to the National Safety Council, using a wireless communications device while driving is one of the biggest distractions that affects driving performance. The claim is that driving while texting leads to more Florida automobile accidents.
The bigger question is whether the legislature should step in and ban the use of cell phones while driving. The National Safety Council has called on drivers to stop using cell phones and messaging devices while pushing all 50 states to pass legislation prohibiting this type of use. But do we need laws against it? Among the other distractions listed were drinking and eating; if this bill is passed, who is to say drinking coffee on the way to work won’t be next? Will this provide just another pretext for law enforcement to pull over and search profiled drivers?
These kinds of movements by legislature are indicative of the changing philosophy’s of what exactly constitutes free choice and what we should and should not be told to do by those we elect to represent us. As much as a ban on texting while driving will likely reduce the amount of accidents to an extent, one might also wonder when the line will be drawn. No question that texting while driving is dumb, the issue is do we want even more governmental intrusion into our lives?
