You just can
’t legislate common sense. Nor should you try. If you could,
we’d legislate some for Santa Clara County Supervisors Liz Kniss
and Jim Beall. They were the sponsors of proposed and failed
legislation that would have banned talking on a cell phone by
drivers, unless they’re using a hands-free de
vice.
Talking on cell phones is a distraction to be sure. So is eating a Big Mac, sipping a Starbucks, listening to talk radio, and yelling at bickering kids in the back seat.
Are we going to outlaw all of those things, too?
How about reading a newspaper, text messaging on a Blackberry, or applying mascara? We’ve all heard stories of drivers doing all of these things while commuting on Bay Area freeways and witnessed some ridiculous behavior.
County Supervisor Don Gage was right to oppose the legislation because of enforcement difficulties. The law would only apply to unincorporated parts of the county, but not in cities. Gage correctly termed the bill an enforcement nightmare, but that’s not the most important reason to oppose it.
County Supervisor Pete McHugh, who also voted against the measure, was wrong when he called the measure a “grand gesture.” Since the measure failed 3-1 at the last supervisors’ meeting, staff will consider if the county should support similar legislation circling the Senate in Sacramento. McHugh supports a similar ban at the state level.
We disagree.
Whether it’s a state, county, or city law, this kind of legislation is bad. Where does it stop? Do you ban unruly children from cars because they’re distracting?
Do you ban billboards because they’re distracting? Do you ban radios and CD players? How about banning flowers from blooming, horses from grazing, and rainbows from spanning our South County’s hillsides? While beautiful, they’re mighty distracting.
This proposal is a bad idea, bad government, and shows a shocking lack of common sense.
Our government should require people to drive safely. That covers the matter. Those who don’t drive safely are held accountable for the consequences.
Meanwhile, as citizens, we should demand that our government focus on more important issues. Instead of wasting time on this insipid legislation, we’d like to see county supervisors working on cleaning up the Williamson Act mess, enforcing permit laws on hillsides, improving the permit process in the county’s planning department, and making sure the county’s emergency management plans are up to snuff.
These are the proper priorities of our county government, not moot attempts to legislate common sense.
