Cell-phoning drivers
aren’t the worst

Quite a few people have been complaining about those who talk on their cellular phones while driving. Letters to the editor and talk on the street call for the passage of laws to ban cell phone use while driving.

To be sure, talking on the telephone reduces one's attention to any other task at hand, whether driving, working or watching the kids. But adding more laws to the books isn't the solution.

Many isle drivers habitually ignore the most basic road rules, aggravating the rest of us as well as putting us in danger. They careen from one lane to another without signaling or checking their blind spots, hold up other vehicles while sitting in the passing lane, and run red lights with abandon. They drive at dusk or in the pouring rain without turning their headlights on, oblivious to their invisibility. Little boys in shiny little cars substitute volume for sound quality and car wax for driving ability.

Skillful, courteous drivers talking on their cell phones aren't the biggest problem on Hawaii's roads.

--Nancy Christenson McNamee

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