Even the most rational and sane drivers can become serious dangers when they’re on a cell phone.

We’ve all been there. One second, we’re heading home and chatting with a friend about plans for the night; the next second, we’ve missed a turn, or had a close call when we didn’t notice the light turned red.

Maybe the worst of it ended with just a few honks from another driver. Maybe it didn’t.

It’s well documented that distractions seriously impair your driving ability.

In a study by the federal traffic safety administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, researchers found that in 80 percent of all crashes, the driver was distracted in the three seconds prior to the accident.

The ubiquity of cell phones and their uncanny tendency to send our minds wandering is particularly dangerous.

The California Assembly has passed a bill banning the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by any driver under the age of 18 while driving. Eleven other states are considering similar bills.

This bill is hardly groundbreaking.

Illinois and 14 other states already have similar bans in effect. Chicago has prohibited any driver, young or old, from holding a phone to their ear while driving.

The Illinois law took effect in July 2005 and was strengthened this August. As of Jan. 1, 2008, the law will prohibit anyone younger than 19 from using a cell phone while driving.

The fact that this movement is gaining momentum is a great thing. Sending text messages from behind the wheel in particular is a very scary concept.

I’ve tried reading and sending text messages while driving, and it scared me how much of my attention it required.

“It’s pretty dangerous,” said Ashlee Smith, a senior special education major. “I don’t know how anyone can do that.”

I’ve seen people on the interstates texting during their morning commute. It freaks me out every time I see it. I can’t imagine someone with their sparkling new driver’s license undertaking that task.

Natalia Bulsza, a sophomore finance major, thinks it’s a good thing to keep younger drivers off cell phones while driving. “Cell phones are only going to distract them,” Bulsza said.

Combine such a hefty distraction with an inexperienced driver and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

There are always concerns about over-regulation around these kinds of bans, but I don’t see how this ban would hurt anyone. It protects the lives of some of the most dangerous drivers on the road – and the lives of their potential victims.

There’s one very easy alternative for those who of you who absolutely have to keep in touch: pull over.

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