I'll admit that I don't follow every rule spelled out in driver's ed.
I don't always drive with both hands firmly on the wheel at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock -- in fact, I often just drive with one hand on the wheel, usually at five or seven.I also spend time fiddling with my iPod, trying to find a song I want to listen to, because the iPod always finds a way to make you believe that out of 7,426 songs, the next one is the one you really want to hear. They didn't cover iPods in driver's ed, though.Sometimes while in my car, I eat a Special K bar.And sometimes -- gasp! -- I talk on my cell phone.Not for long, I know.Starting Tuesday, a new cell-phone law takes effect in California. Drivers older than 18 can use a cell phone only if they use a hands-free device. For drivers younger than 18, well, your chatting and driving days are done. That's unless you want to risk a $20 ticket, $50 on subsequent offenses.I don't have a headset or a Bluetooth -- and I won't be buying one, for two reasons:1. The sound on my cell phone is so crappy that it's difficult to hear over the noise that comes along with driving. Thanks, AT&T.2. This new cell phone law is totally disconnected.As someone who often drives with one hand on the wheel and has played enough Nintendo that I'm pretty good at touching buttons without looking at them, I can say that's perfectly possible to answer my phone without taking my eyes off the road. Furthermore, using one hand to hold a cell phone to my ear doesn't impede my ability to drive one bit.The talking part? Well, yeah, that can be a distraction -- but is there really a difference between talking on a cell phone or talking to the person in the passenger seat? If you're talking, you're talking. In fact, I'd guess that you're more likely to take your eyes off the road in the midst of a conversation with someone in your car.Should we make it illegal to drive with other people in the car, too? Would there be a $20 fine per passenger?And what about all the other distracting things people do while driving?One of the other things I do while in my car -- when I should be sitting up straight, staring forward with my hands at 10 and 2 -- is look at other people in their cars and see what they're doing.I see all kinds of things: They're dancing. They're text messaging. They're eating. They're playing with the radio. They're putting on makeup.For the record, I've never put on makeup in the car, but I have done most of those other things.Which cuts directly to the point: People do a lot of other dumb stuff behind the wheel. All of us. Is this good practice? Probably not.Will it stop? Probably not.Will this new law be the magic bullet to make people better drivers?See above.But there's one thing it's apparently really good for -- selling cell-phone accessories.