WIRE Gives Cruising A New Meaning
by Mike Dieffenbach

"Drive Now, Talk Later," read the bumper sticker on my old neighbor lady’s car. It featured an animated face babbling on a phone while holding a steering wheel. I surprised myself. I agreed with the neighbor lady’s bumper sticker.

A month later a friend of mine set out on a road trip across the United States; I was glad she had purchased a cell phone to take along in addition to the pepper spray key chain I’d given her myself. The phone would allow her to call for help if needed. The question is: Does this convenient device, the cell phone, classify as a safety hazard, or a safety device? The answer is not simple.

Talk this over with some friends enjoying beers together. Many are sure to have cell phones in their vehicles. Most won’t be worried about metabolizing their beverages before indulging in a few more. And here’s the kicker — some of them are sure to drive home from happy hour, buzzing on beer, and calling their wives to tell them they’re "hurrying home."

Cell phones are a safety device as long as the drivers aren’t using them while driving. Passengers? Sure. But a driver should pull over to dial and converse.

As Terry Fisher from NPR’s Cartalk says, "Cell phones are dangerous because they distract attention from the driving populace. I investigate motor vehicle accidents for a living. I frequently see the outcome of this distraction. While you’re at it, try slamming on all of the fast food drive-throughs. I’ve seen an awful lot of half-eaten burgers in wrecks, and spilled coffee on accident victims."

Governor Ridge recently asked the Department of Transportation to start noting when a cell phone may have been in use during an accident. A recent study by the University of Toronto shows that car phone users are four times as likely as other drivers to have an accident.

This whole issue may seem like old hat. Doesn’t it seem that every didactic editor has mounted the soapbox to warn the reader about the dangers of talking on a cell phone while driving? Haven’t you already heard of the Hang Up and Drive Movement?

An editorial outcry was also at the base of the drinking and driving backlash. In the ’80s, liberal elites sided with police, M.A.D.D., S.A.D.D., and other acrimonious acronym-bearing victims’ advocacy groups deploring Joe Six-Pack and demanding he get the hell off the road. The seriousness of the issue prevailed, the laws changed, and suddenly no one could afford a D.U.I.

Right now, there’s a bill in the Pennsylvania Senate (PA Bill 1085) to ban the use of a cell phone when driving. This bill is the result of the tragic death of toddler Morgan Pena, who was hit by a driver who ran through a stop sign while blabbing on his cell.

Will the cell phone conundrum end in the legislature?

Well, know this anyhow. The problem won’t stop with the cell phone. Soon, we’ll be faced with Web-based Interactive Radio Environment (WIRE) technology that will allow drivers to read and write voice-activated e-mail and browse Web sites while driving down the road. This is no joke. The Siemans Corporation has already sent out press releases announcing the technology. According to the manufacturer, WIRE is the first sophisticated voice browser for the automotive industry. It’s really easy; once you’ve logged on, listen to the audio rendering of the Website page, as if listening to a certain song on the radio. You then have the option to use voice commands for additional features, such as following a link to another home page or surfing to another site. You’re surfing while driving!

The company warns: Audio renderings can be produced for the vast majority of web sites, but some context can be lost when encountering a graphically complex site. No problem. In this situation, the use can flag the page and save it to view later on the home computer.

Scared yet?

We need a slogan. "Drive now, e-mail your sister later"? Or: "Driving While WIREd. You Can’t Afford It"? Or how about: "Log On to the Road, Not that XXX Web Site!"

Think about it. How long until the Department of Transportation is investigating to see if the driver of a crash was under the influence of a porn site?