U.S. Committee for Safety Endorses Overall Cell Phone Bad for Drivers

You’re lying if you say you don’t get annoyed when you look into people’s cars at the driver and he or she is face-deep in their phone. The emotion-scale for observers of driver cellphone-abuse range from “that person’s a clown” to “I want to kill them with my fists.” What it really comes down to, though, is just how dangerous usage is. And now, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending changes.

The board has urged a ban on the use of all mobile devices by drivers, including hands-free contraptions. Putting a real-time Facebook update about gridlock’s influence on your mind-state may be cathartic, but no one cares. And it’s a real possibility the reason you’re sitting in traffic is because another driver was talking, texting, or updating about something as trivial. So before you complain about an injustice to your civil liberties, think about how much you complain about traffic, and where that energy may be better spent.