I’m home from a drive to Boston. Massachusetts is contemplating a law that would ban drivers from using hand-held devices. Texting is already banned. Today was typical of what I see on the road, with many drivers holding and glancing at their smartphones. Based on my observations, made not only while driving but when running, I would say that 75% of the offenders are women.
The lady in the late-model Cadillac Escalade I saw a few minutes ago had one hand on the wheel, her phone in the other hand. She was paying attention to her phone as much as she was keeping her eyes on the road. Her car undoubtedly has Bluetooth integration with voice command. Heck, my late father’s base model 2014 Kia Soul had that feature, and I used it.
That woman apparently hasn’t gone to the trouble to figure out how to use Bluetooth. If a strong law is passed — and enforced — people like her in MA will get ticketed and have an incentive to learn how to take full technical advantage of their phones. For those who insist on texting and browsing the Internet, they should give up driving and use Uber, or wait until self-driving cars are a practical reality.
