Editor,
In the June 28-July 4 issue of the Daily Lobo, Iliana Lim¢n heralds the New York Legislature’s ban of hand-held cell phone use while driving as an example New Mexico should follow. In the editorial, she cites two high-profile accidents which were caused by people reaching for cell phones.
Ms. Lim¢n must be ignoring the study conducted by University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center. The study shows that cell phones do not prompt accidents caused by driver distractions, which equal 8.3 percent of annual accidents. Something outside the vehicle caused 29.4 percent of distraction accidents, and adjusting a car stereo caused 11.4 percent of the total.
Cell phones were the cause of fewer accidents than eating or drinking, which made up 1.7 percent; changing the air controls was 2.8 percent; or talking with other people in the car — 10.9 percent. The only distraction that was lower than cell phones, which made up 1.5 percent, was smoking at 0.9 percent.
How would this law affect the poor, who may be able to buy only older model phones for their safety? If the same standard for driving under the influence is applied to cell phone use, you are driving as long as you have reasonable access to the keys and ignition. The law is only for hand-held cell phones. Some may not be able to afford the hands-free car kits currently sold for more than $100 each for newer models, and some older models do not even have hands-free kits available on the market.
Will the lady and her kids in the jalopy and hand-me-down wireless phone be treated as criminals for calling for help when they are lost or stranded?
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It is clear that if we are to make the streets safe by applying the same standards as the cell phone ban, then we must also ask our legislature to protect us by mandating single seat cars and banning windows, drive-through restaurants and circulation systems in automobiles.
The cell phone ban in New York is only the beginning. It is not an act to protect motorists but an assault on technology. This legislation is unnecessary and all citizens will pay a price.
-James Brickey
UNM student
