Whose free hands are in cookie jar?

Well, it looks like the new cell phone hands-free law is finally going to get some teeth. Maybe a good idea … and maybe just another legislative fad and boondoggle.

Recently a study on the effect of hands-free device laws was done by the Highway Loss Data Institute. The results show that the laws do decrease the use of hand-held devices. But those same results show that laws mandating the use of hands-free devices have no affect on accident rates. And — the laws don’t address the real distraction — dialing. Maybe there is more at work here than the Legislature trying to make the state’s roads and highways safer.

The article in Saturday’s Herald hints at a likely reason for this nationwide fad. Regarding the impending signing of the new law by Gov. Gregoire, the piece states “… which in turn may touch off a buying spree of headsets…”

Color me cynical, but could it be that at the heart of this issue are the manufacturers of the hands-free devices? If you do the math, given the cost of headsets, the number of vehicles and cell phone penetration rates, you find that the potential nationwide market, being mandated by state laws, is in the dozens of billions of dollars.

Chris Johnson

Marysville

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