It's OK to kill people...as long as you're being cool while doing it

Normally I would be against a law that restricts otherwise legal behavior but this seems to be the right way to handle personal behavior from a public safety standpoint...

ATLANTA — Drivers who cause a wreck while yakking on a cellphone will face a fine of up to $500 under a law that took effect Tuesday in DeKalb County, Ga.
The law, likely the first of its kind in Georgia, sanctions drivers whose "improper" usage of a mobile phone was a "contributing factor" in a collision causing death, injury or damage.
"It has the potential to change the way tens of thousands of drivers go about their business, even if they're simply passing through on the interstates and state highways that cross the county line." said a state lawmaker.

Then there was this interesting study I read about which certainly supports Georgia's decision to punish stupid drivers...

A study has shown that motorists who talk on cell phones while driving are as impaired as drunk drivers.
An unexpected finding: While some of the participants crashed in a virtual vehicle while sober and chatting, none of them crashed while drunk.
The study supports previous research that has revealed the risks of using cell phones, including the hands-free variety, behind the wheel.
"We found that people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit," said Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah.
Previous studies have suggested as many as 2,600 people are killed each year in accidents involving drivers on cell phones. About 10 percent of drivers say they sometimes talk on cell phones while driving, and that figure is growing.

Look, everybody has a cell phone these days...even teenagers who don't really need them. They just have them to be cool like their friends. Teens already think they're adults and invincible and they do the stupidest, risky things to endanger themselves, their friends, and others. Making them, or their parents, and anybody else who doesn't have the sense to put the phone down, pay a heavy, punitive fine for screwing up behind the wheel, makes perfect sense.

The problem is that when you're driving and talking on the phone, what's in your mind's eye is what you're talking about with your friend, not what's in front of you. I have experienced hanging up the cell phone in the car and then trying to remember how many red lights and green lights I negotiated during the conversation, and being shocked to realize that I could not. I literally had no memory of any traffic situation during the phone call.

I would not be in favor of [cell-phone-usage-while-driving] constituting sole justifiable grounds for being pulled over and ticketed, but if you are too stupid to use a phone and drive and it causes you to wreck, you should have to pay a fine for that. This law strikes just the right chord with me...punish the consequences of behavior not the otherwise legal behavior itself. It's exactly like people who own Pit bulldogs, it's legal to own one but when he bites somebody, it's your responsibility and you deserve punishment for not behaving responsibly.