The problem with your example is that the stats show cellphoning while driving bumps your accident rate up into the drunk driving territory while none of you other “suggestions” even come close to that range.
What do “stats” show about people who are driving while arguing with someone in the back seat? Oh, they don’t keep those “stats”? And how exactly do they measure the level of distraction caused by someone on the phone when every person is different and there is a whole spectrum of “distraction” from a routine phone call saying you’ll be home in five minutes to an explanation of the pricing of bonds, not to mention the difference between driving in a secluded highway versus driving in a busy intersection? And don’t you think that there are responsible drivers out there who are able to drive while speaking on the phone just as easily as drive and sing along to a song on the radio?
I know that proponents of these laws mean well, but I think that they’re a lazy, inefficient proxy for a lwa that says “people should drive well.” Policemen can’t hand outas many tickets for “bad driving,” so they prefer an objective, albeit inefficient, standard such as “driving while holding a cell phone.” So I can’t support these laws.
Oh! Well sh*t! “Studies show...” I guess that settles it then.