Cellphones Kill

As we bask in the lusty month of May, America is facing a colossal oil spill of epic environmental, ecological and economic proportion. A divisive immigration crisis strains at the fabric of Constitutional precepts. Oprah just declared a No Phone Zone Day. What do these three events have in common? They're all problems which seem to require an out-of-control spiral before they merit sufficient attention. The first two would exhaust far too much space and time to address, but there's a fix for the last issue all of us can and should embrace.

Imagine that you're in too big a hurry to take a shower and blow-dry your hair, so you opt to do both simultaneously to get ready on time. That's how insane it is to try to drive and "multi-task." Diverting attention from driving, regardless of whether we're crawling in bumper-to-bumper traffic or speeding down 285, is, as Oprah suggests, "a game of Russian roulette." New York City has outlawed the use of cellphones while driving and we should all follow suit. In Manhattan, it's a dicey enough proposition to walk while using a mobile phone, let alone successfully operate a metallic hulk capable of mowing down pedestrians and totaling other cars.

The sight of one-handed drivers clasping iPhones or Blackberries to their heads has become ubiquitous. These zombies do one or all of the following: mosey along at a glacial pace in a 45 mph zone, weave well over the yellow line, make turns with no regard to oncoming traffic, and sail blithely through red lights and stop signs. They also miss the intended exit on the interstate, narrowly avoid hitting runners, cyclists and baby strollers, and are generally oblivious to their surroundings. Yet somehow, because of our global love affair with constant communication, they all get a free pass while high speed demons are ticketed and drunk drivers are locked up.

The nature of the "crime" is twofold: if you're engrossed in a conversation behind the wheel, fellow motorists and innocent bystanders become virtually invisible; you can cause an accident or become a statistic yourself. Oprah's national campaign to halt the madness has called attention to a host of deaths due to cellphone use, often teens who not only chat and drive but also text while driving. How did we all get along before, in Superman world? You know, the one where phone booths still existed. All those discussions about what to pick up at the store, what to eat for dinner, the latest gossip, the wheeling and dealing--it all miraculously got done in the past, before the dawn of T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.

Enough people have died, been seriously injured or have had too-close-for-comfort-calls, thanks to the nifty little devices. If you're an offender, concede the harsh reality that you're willing to sacrifice your life or someone else's for the sake of convenience. That "urgent" ringtone can be ignored long enough to pull into the closest parking lot, cut the engine and tap a button. Cellphones are great when your car breaks down on a deserted road in the middle of the night or an axe murderer is stalking you. But meaningless gabbing mixed with mindless driving is a deadly mix. Besides, the jury's still out on what high-frequency microwaves do to those other gadgets--our brains. Go to Oprah.com and take the No Phone Zone Pledge.