The Governator signed into law a ban on cell phones and driving in California, just days after showing up at the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment keynote in Los Angeles. Way to stick it to us, Arnold!
The ban makes it illegal to drive and operate a cell phone, but allows drivers to use hands-free devices to conduct conversations while behind the wheel. (I can almost hear all you headset people out there cheering.) California joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, the District of Columbia and various cities in prohibiting drivers from talking on handheld cell phones.
Although I do enjoy Arnold’s movies (especially “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Robocop”) I have to take issue with this new legislation.
Why does Arnold feel the need to protect me from cell phones? I know that he has already saved me from Satan (“End of Days”), the T-X (“Terminator 3”), terrorists (“Collateral Damage”), clones (“The 6th Day”), aliens (“Predator”), and other various bad guys, pregnant men, the George Clooney Batman, Sinbad, etc., but does Arnold really need to save me from the horrors of answering a call? Are cell phones really that dangerous?
What I really want is protection from car accidents. Why don’t you legislate that, Arnold?
The sad part about all this is that studies have shown that hands-free gadgets do not necessarily fix the cell phone driver-distraction problem. Further, I’m betting that cell phones are a relatively minor distraction when compared with watching TV, reading a book, eating a salad, and applying mascara (all of which I have seen on the freeway) when driving.
So yes, my point is that the government doesn’t really need to tell me how to use my cell phone. I’m perfectly capable of using it while driving, thank you very much, and I suspect the people who cause accidents while talking on their cell phones do so because they are bad drivers.
And if you don’t believe me, all you need to do is drive somewhere and keep an eye out for the idiots-are they all on cell phones? I bet not.
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