Cell Phones on Road: A Better Solution

Re “Cell Phones: There Auto Be a Law,” Letters, June 29:

I agree a new law is needed but not like the one Michael Foxen lauds in New York, which bans the use of a cell phone while driving. Otherwise, with that logic, we would also need myriad laws banning driving while doing such things as reading a book, looking at a map, doing one’s fingernails, eating a greasy cheeseburger, ad nauseam. And if anyone thinks this is facetious, they haven’t spent much time in rush hour.

Actually, Foxen is also wrong about another thing. If drivers run red lights or make unsafe lane changes, whether using a cell phone or not, there are already laws on the books to deal with them. What we need is just one more all-encompassing law for cell phone users who don’t quite commit a substantive offense.

Therefore, I propose a law that prohibits “operating a motor vehicle while engaged in an activity that interferes with the ability to safely operate the vehicle.” Therefore, no one is saying you can’t use a cell phone. You just can’t drive while using a cell phone. And if a cop sees someone on their cell phone and also sees the vehicle bobbing and weaving, voila, one easy-to-prove citation should be issued.

Nick Salicos

Seal Beach