If ur drvng, rd ths l8r

So what do you get for my 900th post? Texting while driving!!!

Massachusetts' texting-while-driving ban goes into effect today. Long and short, you can get a ticket if you are texting while operating a moving vehicle, and if you are under 18, you can lose your license if you get caught texting while driving.

Several thoughts:

First of all, I have seen this referred to twice this morning as "The state's controversial new texting ban." Controversial? Really? You mean to tell me that there is a single person who doesn't think this is a good idea? I gotta be honest...this is just about the least controversial new law I can remember. NOBODY thinks this is a bad idea. I think that maybe our news sources could use some vocabulary lessons...

Second, the police have announced openly that they will be "targeting younger drivers", which of course makes lots of sense. They send more texts, are less experienced drivers and get distracted more easily...so it is perfectly logical to focus on younger drivers. My question is this: why is it OK in this instance to target a specific group, but we consider it an affront to the founding fathers to do this in other situations?

There are obvious profiling extensions of this in other areas of law enforcement, but in the interest of not trivializing those, I will just focus this on older drivers. Every time some crone in a 22 foot long Buick barrels into a convenience store because they forgot which is the brake and which is the gas, someone notes that maybe, just maybe, we should re-test drivers past a certain age...and, the AARP threatens legal action and the blue hairs throw a collective fit about how unfair their lives are. So why can we point out the obvious about younger drivers, but not acknowledge the safety risks caused by deteriorating mental and physical faculties?

And finally, while we are at it, should we think about some other activities that cause significant road safety dangers? Eating, talking on the phone, doing makeup, reading and writing...I have seen people do all of these and a whole lot more on the highway. I don't mean to sound pious, as I am as guilty as anyone is. I have texted, and I eat while I drive all the time. Heck, on long car rides, I usually turn on cruise control and fold my legs up underneath me in the drivers seat...you may notice that I am maybe not quite prepared to stop on short notice like that...

My point (do I ever really have a point?) is that I am glad we have begun the process of examining the activities of people while driving. Maybe it is the obviously looming prospect of a new driver in the house...but I really don't have a problem with applying some common safety sense via statute.

[Note...according to Blogger, "texting" and "texted" are not words. Umm...seriously Google?]