Never Drink (and Drive) and Dial!

Common sense has it that driving with a cell phone pressed to your ear is a dangerous activity. At last Senate Bills 1613 and 33 have arrived. Well, almost. As of July 1, 2008, you MUST either abstain from cell phone use while driving (gasp!) or contribute to the soaring profits of the makers of Bluetooth compatible devices. And, if you are under 18, you must refrain from cell phone use, while driving, altogether. However, driving while working to establish and maintain a link between your Bluetooth device and your cell phone, which is more of a distraction than holding the phone to your ear after pressing the speed dial button, is still legal (if not encouraged) by these new laws. Let's hope that this predictable, "Oops! I forgot to locate and activate my Bluetooth device" sensation (which I have already experienced a number of times while driving), does not result in more accidents. The best idea, of course, is to pull over and figure this out. This remains so in spite of the enduring legality of the act of hunting through your car's center console in order fidget with little buttons while driving.

I will here issue my final warning that this new law is going cause many traffic stops. After all, this is one of the easiest law violations for the police to identify and I predict that it will cause a surge in the number of traffic stops and the myriad arrests that flow from them (such as DUI's, Driving without license, etc.)