http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-09-11/cellphone-ban-moves-forward

 

Amarillo City Commissioner Jim Simms is the lone wolf on whether to ban handheld cellphone use while driving cars.

He cast the single “no” vote Tuesday on an ordinance banning the activity in the city. He said cellphones are too much a part of people’s lives to ban them in cars. I’ve been all over the pea patch on this issue.

I guess it’s good to remind Commissioner Simms that driving motor vehicles has been a part of people’s lives far longer than cellphones. In fact, driving those vehicles – even without the distractions – is a potentially dangerous activity. Adding the temptation of allowing drivers to dial up their pals on cellphones while navigating through traffic makes the activity even more dangerous.

Being a good-government kind of guy, I think I’ve actually determined that the City Commission has taken the right – and courageous – action in seeking to ban this activity.

The discussion over whether to send the issue to a vote of the people reminds me of the lack of spine commissioners exhibited over two proposals to ban smoking indoors. They couldn’t pull the trigger on what is a matter of public health. Many municipal governing bodies have acted unilaterally on that issue and they have succeeded in persuading their constituents of the correctness of their action.

With that, the cellphone ban is an example of commissioners exhibiting leadership, which is why we elect them to office in the first place.