Going back to my complaint about the government usurping personal responsibility a few weeks ago, the National Safety Council is now recommending a complete ban on cell phone use while driving.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479186,00.html

A national safety group is advocating a total ban on cell phone use while driving, saying the practice is clearly dangerous and leads to fatalities.

States should ban drivers from using hand-held and hands-free cell phones, and businesses should prohibit employees from using cell phones while driving on the job, the congressionally chartered National Safety Council says, taking those positions for the first time...

"It's not just what you're doing with your hands -- it's that your head is in the conversation and so your eyes are not on the road," Froetscher said.

Should we ban all talking of any kind while in the car because the driver's head is in that conversation rather than paying attention to the road? Should drinking a beverage be illegal because the driver's hand is on the drink rather than controlling the vehicle? What about woman putting on makeup at a stoplight? Should we ban a driver from singing along with a song on the radio? Heck, should we just ban the presence of radios in the vehicle? How about eating a hamburger purchased at a drive-thru with one hand while driving with the other? And, if so, maybe we should ban drive-thrus and to-go orders because there's a risk that some people will eat that food on the way home... will a restaurant be responsible if someone is caught eating that restaurant's food while driving home? Will there be an "open bag" law that means if any bag of take-out food is not in its restaurant-sealed state then it will be assumed the driver was eating and will be ticketed appropriately.

Come on... how about we accept some personal responsibility and also simply understand there is some risk involved in driving masses of metal that weight thousands of pounds down the road?

We can't eliminate risk but it sure seems like the government is trying to eliminate personal responsibility... and freedom at the same time.