Law vs Freedom

[KilljoyKlown]

As long as you want to talk distractions, I can't think of anything more distracting than this.

Waitress Denies Oral Sex Caused Car Crash

[Fraggle Rocker]

That is an interesting test - but do we know that CB usage did not correlate with more accidents? And weren't CBs used almost exclusively by professional drivers?

By the late 1970s CBs were as common in passenger cars as "I heart my dog-head" bumper stickers would be a few years later. I think I was the only person in my crowd who didn't have one, probably because I was the most dedicated motorcyclist and didn't drive on four wheels any more often than absolutely necessary--which isn't very often in L.A. None were professional drivers.

People used them to listen in on the truckers to keep track of the Smokeys, to coordinate with each other on their way to a common destination from different starting points, and simply to socialize at random with other drivers. Come to think of it the citizen's band may have been the first Social Medium.

Well, we shall see - the technology is already out there, and will likely become totally standard as older cars are retired. I wouldn't buy a new car that didn't have that feature, myself.

I'm still out of synch with technology. I keep a cellphone in the glove box in case I have a problem that requires calling 911 or the AAA. About twice a year somebody calls me while I'm driving and it's always important enough to answer and short enough to not agonize over the risk. If I have to make a call I pull over. Only my nearest and dearest even have the number.

The last time I had a breakdown pre-cellphone, on a busy highway, it took 15 minutes before somebody finally stopped to help. And that was sheer luck. I was wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt and it was a whole family of Deadheads in a minivan.