Bad Call

Cell phone bans are all the rage, thanks in part to this mess in Washington. The National Transportation Safety Board is bent on blaming youth (though the driver was 20, not 16) and obsessive cell phone use (for some reason, it is relevant that the driver received 15 calls in the four hours before the crash). In my experience driving through cell-phone-wary and ticket-happy NYC, cell phone bans only add another distraction from the road; between driving and talking, motorists also have to keep an eye out for cops. Of course, if cell phones need to go, so do screaming kids, morning coffee, FM radio and climate control. This AAA report rates cell phones surprisingly low on a long list of more hazardous distractions.