School Says No To Cell Phone Drivers

The Star-Telegram had an interesting tidbit this morning. The Southlake-Carroll Independent School District is asking parents and others who drive near the school, to not use their cellphones when near school property. Soon they will be putting up signs around the district's 11 schools asking drivers to hang up.

Last year, a teacher was hit by a cellphone driver, and had to be hospitalized. A cellphone driver also narrowly missed hitting a student at a different school. A spokeswoman for the district said, "We're asking them to be more safety-conscious. There are lots of people around, and you need to be more alert."

No one will be fined or have their cellphone confiscated. They are just trying to remind people of how dangerous it is to be driving in a school zone while distracted by talking on a cellphone. As the Carroll spokeswoman says, "The cellphone police are not coming out. The signs are going to serve as reminders. Cellphones are a part of our lives. We are not asking anyone not to have them."

This sounds like a reasonable request from the school district. After all, who wants to be the person who ran over a child because they were too distracted by a cellphone conversation. Actually, people shouldn't drive at all when chatting on the cellphone. Several studies have shown that cellphone drivers are as dangerous as drunk drivers. I have to admit some of you cellphone drivers scare the hell out of me on the freeway. But if you must continue your addiction to the cellphone while driving, hang it up or put it down when in a school zone. Our children are more important than your conversation.