Hands-Free Cellphone Use

As those of you in California know (and those of you elsewhere have probably heard), recently the law went into effect that you cannot talk on your cellphone while driving unless you are using a hands-free device. Many have heralded this as a life-saving law. I don't disagree. I have seen and heard of many accidents caused by talking or texting on a cellphone. Unfortunately, a lot of those accidents have caused fatalities. It is good that something is being done to control it. However, I have a bone to pick with this law.

While I do agree with the law, I feel that cellphones are being singled out of a multitude of things that contribute to or cause car accidents. If you are going to say that cellphone use causes accidents because it is a distraction, that's fine. But, there are a lot of other things that are equally as distracting. For instance, thousands of accidents are caused by smokers who are distracted by trying to light a cigarette, smoke it, dispose of the ash, or dropping it into their lap or elsewhere in the car. What about changing the radio station? That is not illegal, yet that is a huge distraction, fiddling with the volume, the station, the CD. Having passengers in the car and conversing with them is a terrible distraction. It is our nature to look at the person we are talking to, especially when we are trying to make a point. If we are thinking about the next thing we're going to say, we are not giving our full attention to the road. What are some distractions you've noticed?

I am not disagreeing with the law on cellphone use. I do think it is a good law and will help cut down on the number of accidents to an extent. However, I feel it is unfair to single out cellphone use out of a myriad of other causes of car accidents. What do you think?