Will we see new laws regulating cell phones and driving?
This is one of those topics that tends to generate a lot of strong opinion. There are people who think it’s dangerous to use cell phones while driving. And there are those who think it’s totally safe.
As you are probably aware, both Missouri and Illinois have done very little to stop us from talking (or even texting) on our phones while driving. Illinois does have some restrictions, including one for drivers under 19 years of age.There have been attempts in both state legislatures to seek new regulation, but those haven’t gone anywhere.
A few months back, I was talking about this with Alvin Wolff Jr., a personal injury attorney in Clayton. Why haven’t we seen more laws here?
It’s pretty simple, he said. We just haven’t had any high-profile accidents/tragedies linked to cell phones and driving.
“People tend to react to a tragedy when it hits close to home,” Wolff said.
And now, a truck driver from Alabama has been charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter in last summer’s horrific accident on Highway 40, where a truck plowed into stopped traffic.
In the report, driver Jeffrey Knight is quoted as saying:
“I reached across the dash to get my cell phone. I flipped the phone open, looked back at traffic, and I was there right at the last car (in the line of cars stuck in traffic). I didn’t see any brake lights or emergency flashers. After I hit the first car, I just remember holding the steering wheel and seeing cars going to my left and right.”
I know people have very strong feelings on this - both for and against cell phone usage in cars. So what do you think will happen here? Will we see new attempts to regulate our mobile talk time? Should we?
Tim has covered a wide range of topics, including tourism, crime, aviation and gambling, since becoming a reporter in 1990. The Oklahoma native joined the Post-Dispatch in 2007 after spending nine years in Orlando. In his spare time, he's often exploring one virtual world or another. He can be reached at tbarker@post-dispatch.com. 
I think we should ban handheld phone use while driving. And for those of you who say handsfree devices are not any safer,then passengers shouldn’t be allowed in cars. Having a conversation on a cell phone with a handsfree device is as safe or in my opinion, safer than having a conversation with a passenger. Because you have the tendancy to look at the passenger during the conversation. And what about the drivers eating, drinking, changing the radio station, swapping out cd’s, reading directions, putting on makeup, handing something to their kid in the backseat and my favorite, the idiots who drive with their “lap dogs” on their lap!
It seems I am surgically linked to my cell phone and I use it for work on a regular basis. It would be a HUGE inconvenience for this to be made illegal but, I would have to support a law banning cell phone use. Why? Because I don’t have the strength to stop myself from using it. They are very dangerous and I routinely get lost in my conversation. It will be a pain in the rear but make I am certain it will save lives. So I say make it illegal.
A study has actually shown that talking on the phone is substantially less safe than talking to a passenger. University of Utah 2008. Look it up. I write about this stuff for a living and I’m near tears reading about this accident. Please don’t phone and drive. Even if you’re not afraid of being in an accident, think about how it would feel to responsible for someone else’s death.
Are the lawmakers waiting for more incidents before pushing this bill? We all know that it’s unsafe to use cellphone while driving, the fact that you have to attend to the person that you’re calling. And what if they’re arguing over the phone, you think the driver can focus on his driving?