In the United States the National Safety Counsel (NSC) has concluded that the use of cell phones in cars should be banned. They have concluded that it does not matter if it is a hands free or not phone, the risk of accidents is just as high.
As it would be, the NSC as well as others are just coming to realize what hypnotists have known for a long time. However nobody thought to ask a professional hypnotist as many still see them as the stereotypical stage hypnotist who uses hypnosis for entertainment. The now recognized profession of clinical hypnosis has moved the acceptance of hypnosis into the mainstream the same as Chiropractic medicine and others. The use of hypnosis is common now in hospitals including in operating room when waking surgery is needed. Even painless natural childbirth is offered in a method known as Hypnobirthing.
The same brainwave pattern when a person is multitasking by driving and talking on the phone, is the same as when a person is in a state of hypnosis. Awareness and perception are altered as 50% of the mind is trying to drive the car, while the other 50% is trying not to sound like an idiot. However the idiot part becomes apparent when certain verbiage is use followed by the sound of crumpling sheet metal and a deploying air bag.
Although the NSC has seemingly hit the nail on the head, a problem remains that stands in the way. Talking on a cell phone while driving is no different than talking on a police or other 2 way radio. Being a policeman or other person who makes use of a 2 way radio while driving does not provide immunity for the multitasking effect. So any ban would need to cover them too. So you can imagine just how well this ban will fly when tested in court.
In fact there was a court case some time back that provided the same test. Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s when CB radios were all the rage, police were losing out on revenue as drivers were broadcasting warnings to other drivers about speed traps. A local prosecutor took up the challenge and requested that the court order the same such ban as the NSC wants today. It would require the driver to pull off the road and stop if they wanted to use their CB radio. As the story goes the judge was ready to rule in favor of the ban, but told the prosecutor that he could not limit the ban to just one type of 2 way radio, and that emergency vehicles would be subject to the same ban. Needless to say that is where the idea ended.
A powerful US lobbying group wants to ban the use of cell phones while driving – all cell phone use, including hands-free operation.
The National Safety Council (NSC) – a 94-year-old, congressionally chartered non-profit organization with 55,000 member companies – released a statement today that calls upon private citizens to shut up and drive, businesses to ban cell-phone use by their mobile employees, and state lawmakers to enact legislation to criminalize in-car phone calls.
When automotive cell-phone calls are outlawed, only outlaws will make automotive cell-phone calls.
According to the NSC’s president and CEO, Janet Froetscher, “Studies show that driving while talking on a cell phone is extremely dangerous and puts drivers at a four times greater risk of a crash.”
Interestingly, the study most prominently cited by the NSC was performed in 2002 by the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis, the same organization hat had conducted a similar study two years earlier that had concluded that “The risks [of using a cell phone while driving] appear to be small compared to other daily risks but are uncertain.”
The NSC also cited a 2006 University of Utah study concluding that “people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated.”
Also cited are studies showing that no safety improvements are gained by the use of hands-free devices and that talking with a passenger is “significantly safer” than holding a cell-phone conversation.
According to the NSC, making hand-held cell phone calls is currently illegal in California, Washington, Utah, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Froetscher wants to expand no-use laws to blanket the nation. “It’s time to take the cell phone away,” she said.
Although we have no desire to refute these and many other studies that have inspired the NSC to lead this crusade, we can’t help lament the ongoing and seemingly incessant efforts by the nanny state to legislate common sense.
Maybe Froetscher is right when she says that “There will be a day…when we look back and wonder how we could have been so reckless with our cell phones and texting devices.”
But if the NSC and their legislative allies have their way, that day may come when we are all securely encased in bubble wrap and duct-taped to a comfy couch.
