New law -- hands free cell phone use during driving

Starting next Tuesday, it will be illegal (secondary offense) to use your cell phone while driving if you don't use a headset or hands-free device in the State of Washington.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008018039_cellphone26m.html

Before you start complaining about infringement of your rights, consider a study done recently, comparing cellphone use while driving to drinking and driving at the limit of 0.08. The study found that 40 adults tested showed the same amount of impairment for drinking as for using a cell phone. Hands free or not, talking on a cell phone is a distraction, and delays your reactions on the road. Those tested, by the way, got to drink shots of vodka and orange juice. I wonder if they got paid. 

I know lots of people who use their commute time to conduct business, catch up with family and friends, and pass the time. Until February 2007, I was one of them. The long commute several times a week between West Seattle and Everett seemed an instant solution to catching up on missed calls and keeping in touch. I always used a headset or Jabber so both hands could be on the wheel for the kind of defensive driving we have to do on Seattle highways. But when I put my commute to rest by relocating my business to my home, the headset collects dust most of the time. Instead, I'm walking around my house on speakerfone. 

But before I started using a headset, I was singing show tunes. I kid you not. How else am I "nightclubsinger" on Ebay? I memorized over 500 tunes, including all the words to Lily Allen's "Smile" album, a few songs in other languages (I have no clue what I'm singing), and the standards of Billy Holiday and Frank Sinatra. For a good movie with a singing scene to die for, Netflix "P.S. I love You" starring Hillary Swank, belting out a real tear-jerker. 

Maybe it's time for us to return to pre-tech ideas for the commute. Please submit your safe idea for the world to see. For all, I hope you'll consider limiting your cell phone use - even hands-free use -- in favor of making the roads safe for all. 

BTW, my man informed me about the commercial with the four cell phones and popcorn popping because the calls emitting radio frequency. He said it was completely fabricated, of course, but T-mobile received calls from concerned people after viewing this commercial without explanation on YouTube.com. My feeling: people really need to stop believing what they see. In the data manipulation and image processing age, nothing is for real. And BTW, if you're still unconvinced and feel you are nuking your head, why not use a wired earpiece?