An Unhealthy Obsession

Americans have an unhealthy obsession with their cell phones, according to the National Safety Council. Don't we know it. If you are a curious driver, as I am, you just have to get a peek at the driver of that weaving, slowing, sporadically braking vehicle ahead of you on the road. Almost without fail, the driver is preoccupied with a little device, sending or receiving a message that must be far more important than road safety.

The Laguna Beach Police Department has announced it will be ticketing people who are texting or holding a cell phone while driving on April 3 and 16 as part of April's Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign.

When was that again? APRIL 3 AND 16 - but - don't please do it anytime! You're four times more likely to get into a wreck, and your reaction time is slower than a driver with a .08 blood alcohol level, the legal intoxication limit.

I predict the NSC isn't going to let it rest there. If I'm correctly reading between the lines on their poster below, they are not just targeting texting drivers. Driving while talking on a mobile device - even hands-free - seems to be next up for a crackdown.

So be ultra careful out there, and remember that when you're driving you are the sole captain of a large, heavy, powerful, metal, plastic, and glass machine moving at a rate through space that can cause irreparable damage while you're searching for the right emoticon.