Put That Phone Down

     On January 1 the City of Austin enacts a law that bans the use of all communication  devices while driving  unless the device is used hands free.  This is a good thing but hands free doesn't necessarily mean risk free behind the wheel.
     If you own a fairly new vehicle, you probably have hands free technology built into the auto's entertainment system.  This means more and more drivers on the road are already using their phones hands free while behind the wheel.  But just because your not physically holding the phone it does not mean your not using your mind while talking and texting.  Such a mind chore is only keeping you from thinking about what the car in front of you is doing.  I know from personal experience  my reaction time is not nearly as good when I'm concentrating on  a communication device while behind the wheel.  Talking on a phone is bad enough but try texting while driving, it's a recipe for disaster.
     Trying to enforce the new law is going to be harder than it was trying to enforce prohibition  during 1920.  People are going to use their phones no matter what because they think it's  their right just as they thought it was their right to drink when ever they felt like it. Laws against drinking while driving have been on the books for a long time but it has not stopped people from slapping a cold one between their legs as they go tooling down the open road.  I don't expect people to put their phone away as they drive to the corner store to buy a cold one.