Ruralite Cafe: Published 06/28/01

By Lisa Majors-Duff News Editor

N.Y. bans cell phones; Cashiers wants to ban towers

And why get it fixed? I might be planning a trip to New York someday soon, and I don't want to get a ticket for driving and talking at the same time.

That's right. New Yorkers and anyone else caught driving in the Empire State while talking on a cell phone can be fined up to $100 starting this Christmas holiday season (Dec. 1).

Thank goodness New York's finest have not been empowered to write tickets for really scary abuses of the driving privilege, like applying mascara in the rearview mirror while coaxing 60 mph out of a 2-ton vehicle. I doubt it will ever be a crime to push the seek button on the radio or reach to the bottom of the fast food bag, looking for one more ketchup packet to go with your fries, though under the ban-the-cell-phone line of reasoning maybe it should be.

Just because I do not require the use of a cell phone doesn't mean I necessarily agree with the New York Legislature's new driving rule. I tend to agree with the N.Y. assemblyman opposed to the bill who said he was not convinced cell phones contribute significantly to auto accidents. He called for a study of accidents involving cell phones after the law is enacted because no federal safety studies prove a threat. Another assemblyman who happened to be a former law enforcement officer called the law "unenforceable" and said it essentially takes away another freedom of choice.

New York lawmakers who supported the legislation say it will save lives. But why criminalize a cell phone and not a cheeseburger or a tube of "Passion Pink" lipstick? A distraction is a distraction. How many times have you driven home after work, only to pull into your driveway and not have a clue how you got there? With luck on your side, you make the trip safely every time, even though you engage the cruise control and sleepwalk through traffic lights, never once answering your phone. Doesn't that prove that even paying attention to the road can be a distraction when you "zone out" and leave your subconscious in charge?

I hate to express an opinion contrary to the "Car Talk" guys. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, two of my favorite NPR hosts, have for years been gripping about cell phone users getting behind the wheel. They swear that talking and driving should not be mixed for the sake of all humanity.

But it seems to me that with practice anyone can master talking on the phone while inserting a CD at the same time they run a comb through their hair and make a right on red. It's all a matter of knowing your limitations.

A little closer to home (North Carolina is not currently one of the 40 states considering banning the use of cell phones while driving), the technology of wireless communication has come under fire. It seems a small group of part-time Cashiers/part-time Florida residents are upset that a cell tower is being erected in the middle of their view of Laurel Knob. They are so upset, in fact, that they are ready to shell out some of their own hard-earned cash to prevent what they consider to be an atrocity.

But first these part-time residents asked county leaders to stand up and fight a "guaranteed lawsuit" (according to their lawyer) by passing a moratorium aimed specifically at stopping the Laurel Knob tower construction.

"Not to worry," they told the commissioners. "We'll pay your legal fees."

A novel idea, but the county attorney didn't think it would fly. Instead, he suggested the group pool their millions (not his words) and prevent the tower from becoming a reality by buying the land and the lease from the property owner.

The time frame of the county's moratorium, which also appears to be guaranteed depending on the outcome of a public hearing scheduled for next month, would be used by the planning board to establish rules and regulations for cell towers, like how tall, how attractive and where they should be located. Federal law prohibits local governments from banning telecommunication towers.

It appears to come down to this: Jackson County, on many more issues than just cell towers, wants to be part of the world, we just don't want to look like the rest of the world. An attractive, not-too-tall statue of the man or woman who discovers the right balance should be erected in the appropriate location within the county's borders.

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