GENERAL ASSEMBLY CAN'T LEGISLATE SAFE DRIVING

The Missouri House is being asked to consider a measure that would bar Missouri drivers from using hand-held phones. Violations would constitute a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine, or a year in jail and $1,000 fine if use of the phone contributed to an accident.

Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless provider, says it supports the ban mainly because three other states -- New York, Rhode Island, and Maryland -- and more than 130 cities are considering similar proposals, and it seems "the right thing to do." Sprint PCS, Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless, on the other hand, oppose it.

While phone use when driving can and does cause accidents, so do many other things that distract drivers, including eating, drinking, smoking, taking notes, reading, talking on a CB radio, fiddling with dash controls and talking to a passenger, to name a few.

The General Assembly has no business singling out cellular phone use in some kind of futile attempt to legislate safe driving.