Distracted Driving Bans Need to Go Beyond Inexperienced Teen Drivers

I am getting so pissed off at distracted drivers! Yesterday, two different people talking on cell phones nearly attempted to merge into my lane, causing me to take evasive action to avoid collisions. The worst thing about it was that they didn't realize how close to an accident we were because they were preoccupied with talking on the phone. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE and NOT JUST ABOUT YOUNG INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS!

A recent article highlighted the legislative changes taking place to protect drivers and their passengers, including the furry variety. Mitt Romney once joked the he strapped his dog onto the roof of the family car when going on vacation, but it seems he won't have the last laugh. It's illegal in many states to leave an animal alone in a car that endangers the animal's health and safety. Other laws are aimed at protecting children from the harmful effects of smoking, especially when trapped inside of a car with their parents' or caregivers' second hand smoke. Big surprise that neither of these laws are applicable in Michigan.

Pets and smoking aside, many other states are instituting laws to keep distracted drivers off of the roads, including 37 total that have banned texting altogether. In addition, 10 states have handheld bans in place. Recently, Governor Snyder signed Kelsey's law to to prevent inexperienced, young drivers from hitting the roads while distracted by their cellphones. Kelsey's Law is named after Kelsey Dawn Raffaele, a 17-year-old Michigan teenager who died in 2010 while talking on her cellphone and attempting to navigate around another car on an icy road. But these types of laws need to go much further to prevent adults–who seem to be just as dangerous as experienced teen drivers when distracted by their cell phones–from preventing accidents.