Several cities and counties in the United States have ordinances against cell phone use while driving, but a statewide ban would eliminate confusion and make Michigan roads safer for everyone. The Legislature should make drafting this type of legislation a priority.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported this week that the British insurance company, Direct Line Insurance, commissioned The Transport Research Laboratory to conduct a study that ultimately confirmed that drivers using hand-held cell phones had a 30 percent slower reaction time than drivers under the influence of alcohol. Other problems cell phone-using drivers encountered included an inability to keep a consistent speed and an adequate distance between them and the vehicle in front.

The study also shows hands-free cell phones are a considerable risk to drivers and that drivers using cell phones experience the same driving impairments - or greater - as drunk drivers. Our lawmakers have deemed drunk driving unacceptable; logic would dictate that because cell phone use is as dangerous, it should be curbed by legislative action.

At least 13 countries, including Australia, Belgium and Japan, currently prohibit using cell phones while operating vehicles; several others, such as Canada, are considering instituting similar laws. New York has already done so, making it the first state to ban conversing via cell phone while driving.

The New York law gives a $100 fine for a first offense, a $200 fine for a second offense and a $500 fine for each subsequent offense. Fines are not applicable in emergency situations; the law permits drivers in distress to use CB radios and cell phones if necessary.

The Transport Research Laboratory's study, along with a 1997 report by Don Redelmeier of the University of Toronto in The New England Journal of Medicine, which found that a driver is at least four times as likely to get in an accident when using a hand held cell phone, proves that doing so is a danger to not only the driver using the phone, but to others on the road - and is therefore a public danger. Because it is a public danger, legislative action to curb this behavior must be taken.

Dominic Burch of Direct Line Insurance said, "Eventually we would like to see the use of mobile phones when driving socially unacceptable." But talking on a cell phone while operating a vehicle is extremely dangerous; it slows reflexes and impairs judgement. The Legislature should follow New York's lead and make using a cell phone while driving illegal.