Column - Unified by Outrage over Texting

For all the things that divide us these days, I know of one issue that unifies us.

Bring it up in polite conversation, and people become emphatic and animated. Men and women, Rush-loving conservatives and Pelosi-hearting liberals, night owls and morning people, meat-eaters and vegans, cat people and dog lovers all agree something has to be done about it. Pronto.

It's texting while driving. Tweeting in traffic. Thoughtless thumbs have us linked arm-in-arm in outrage.

It's nothing to LOL about.

All the ingredients are there for universal societal angst. It's so obviously stupid, selfish and dangerous that no one can defend it, not even cell phone companies. Everyone has an outrageous story to share.

Like, for instance, a couple of weeks ago, when I was so appalled by a woman texting while driving next to me that I nearly ran into a truck in front of me.

See how dangerous it is?

And on top of all that, we have stacks and stacks of science. Texting while driving, depending on which one of 6,000 news stories you read, makes you anywhere from four to 23 times more likely to have an accident. Evidently we needed countless studies to determine that not looking at the road is an unsafe driving strategy.

Nineteen states have banned texting while driving and more are on the way.

In Iowa, Marshall County is considering a ban, hoping to nudge the Legislature to pass a statewide prohibition. It might be the only chance for bipartisanship next year under the gilded dome.

“You wouldn't think we'd have to be talking about this. You'd think common sense would win out,” said state Sen. Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa, chair of the Transportation Committee. Good one, senator. He wonders why something so reckless isn't already covered by existing reckless driving laws.

I wonder if passing a new law can make stupid people smart.

Still, we need a proper punishment to match our revulsion. A medieval approach might call for thumb removal, but we're not savages. Perhaps iron thumb shackles on each side of the steering wheel. Or, we could be boring like the Brits, who toss accident-causing texters into the slammer for years.

And your one phone call is on a rotary dial land line. Take that.

Maybe we could do what we often do with dangerous behaviors that achieve a high level of condemnation, such as smoking, etc. We could tax the daylights out of texting. A penny for your thoughts, every one.

The budget just might be balanced for the next generation, so long as its members keep clicking away.

Contact the writer at (319) 398-8452 or todd.dorman@gazcomm.com