And while we’re on the subject of cell phones and the role of parents and school administrators, let’s not forget the Florida Legislature. As noted, this state doesn’t ban cell phones in schools, but leaves their regulation up to local districts.
What it needs to re-think is that Florida has no law that prohibits — or even limits — cell phone use while driving. That obviously includes texting teenagers. That’s obviously an increasingly scary scenario.
The National Safety Council now equates cell phoning while behind the wheel to drunken driving. It’s that dangerous. The NSC estimates that cell phone use while driving increases the risk of an accident fourfold. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis attributes more than 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries a year to cell phone use by motorists.
Chances are, this won’t be the year that the Legislature finally gets revenue-raising religion or helps everyone’s property taxes “drop like a rock.” We all know the politics of that.
But banning – or at least restricting – cell phone use while driving? What exactly is the constituency for enabling behavior that is the equivalent of drunk driving? Especially for novice drivers.
It seems fitting to accord the final word to Janet Froetscher, president of the NSC.
“When our friends have been drinking, we take the car keys away,” she reasons. “It’s time to take the cell phone away.”