LETTERS IN THE EDITOR’S MAILBAG: Tuesday’s paper

Appeared in print: Tuesday, Apr 13, 2010

Phones aren’t worth the risk

Emily Cross’s April 11 letter, “Cell phone law impractical,” was clearly written by a young person who needs to grow up and realize the importance of driving a car without endangering herself and others by using a cell phone.

She mentions that the law is “impractical,” saying that she sometimes needs to phone her parents to let them know her whereabouts. Apparently it doesn’t occur to her that she could accomplish this by pulling over safely into a parking lot or the side of the road to make the call. Or maybe she just believes that would be too much trouble. Such selfish and immature attitudes as these — and they don’t always come from teenagers, unfortunately — are why the numbers of road accidents are increasing and innocent victims are being injured or killed.

Guess what: As recently as 20 or so years ago, no one even had a cell phone and we all managed to communicate quite nicely without them. Hard to imagine, I know. Sad to say, way too many folks have drunk the Kool Aid and believe that they and their calls or texts are so important that they simply can’t wait to get to wherever they’re going to stop and use the device.

It’s not the cell phone law that is stupid; what is really stupid is the belief that this little ubiquitous piece of technology is so important that someone will risk life and limb to use it.

Marsha Boutelle

Eugene