The freedom to drive poorly – Minnesota Public Radio News (blog)

Surely there can be little doubt by now that using a cellphone while driving isnt safe no matter how much we try to convince ourselves were different.

The brain has a hard time doing two things at once and this was true even when cellphones were just phones.

So our eyebrows were raised when we read MPR News Brian Baksts description of a bipartisan effort at the Capitol to limit phone use to hands-free operation.

In terms of a message we want to send through this bill to Minnesota, its simply this: Put this down. Put it away when youre driving, he said.

OK, but why not just ban their use outright if thats the ultimate goal?

Maybe that idea wont go over so well, judging by the reaction of Sen. Warren Limmer who seemed to speak for the likely opponents.

They like their freedom, Limmer said of the people who almost killed you recently.

And nothing says let freedom ring! like driving into a ditch.

So this video from the Wall St. Journal today caught our interest and sparked our questions.

It shows, for example, a woman using a GPS to get to work. Who needs a GPS to get to work?

She added brush my teeth to her to do list via Alexa. Youre driving, maam. Start brushing. Because: freedom!

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the 90s, ran MPRs political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started the two most popular blogs in the history of MPR and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories but reflections , observations, and debate.

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The freedom to drive poorly - Minnesota Public Radio News (blog)