1. I still don't understand why anyone would want to be leashed.
2. One of the things that surprises me about cellphones is how much time people spend talking. This is time that could be used, and perhaps would be used, for thinking. What in the world are these people talking about? Is it important? Are people so lonely that they need to be connected at all times? Were people always this lonely? Do cellphones cause people to be lonely?
3. We can and should analytically separate the various problems caused by cellphone use while driving. First, there is the act of looking at one's cellphone, which takes one's eyes off the road. Second, there is the act of holding a cellphone to one's ear, which reduces one's control of the vehicle. Third, there is the distraction caused by the conversation. A law that prohibits handheld devices solves only the second problem, for presumably one will still have to look at a device to dial a number. If the problem is distraction, then both handheld and non-handheld devices should be prohibited, for in both cases there is distraction. It should also be illegal, on that ground, to have a conversation with a passenger, for that can be just as distracting.
4. I drive very little (about 5,000 miles per year). I'm glad, because the road is a dangerous place, made more dangerous by widespread cellphone use. When I drive to and from bike rallies, I see people in adjacent lanes of the highway. A disturbing percentage (25?) of them are yakking away on cellphones. What is your experience? Please tell me that you do not use a cellphone or other device while driving.
5. I have heard it said, many times, that cellphones aren't leashes because they can be turned off. So they can. But are they? Have you ever turned your cellphone off? Why do I hear cellphones in my classrooms? I'm reminded of a Sunday comic strip from many years ago. In the first panel, the husband assures his wife that if she allows him to buy a cellphone, he will use it only for emergencies. In the second panel, he tells his wife that he uses it only for business. In the third panel, he is ordering a pizza from his car, which is parked in front of the pizza parlor.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 