The Most Dangerous Weapon

There is a lot of talk recently about gun control, and I understand the emotion of wanting to protect innocent children.  What is the most dangerous weapon?  We hear talk about the assault weapons like the Bushmaster AR-15.  High capacity magazines are often blamed. 

Personally, I think the destructive killing power of a 12-gauge shotgun makes an assault rifle look pretty tame.  Should we ban shotguns too?

Maybe we should just concentrate on weapons that are easily concealed like handguns.  Should people be allowed to have concealed carry permits? 

I would like to suggest that none of these are the most dangerous weapon in our society today.  Let’s consider a real killer.  The cell phone is probably the biggest killer in our society today. 

Cell phones cause more death and destruction than any other weapon, tool or instrument in today’s society.  More people die from the use of cell phones in cars than from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Current reporting shows this in spite of the fact that most accidents caused by cell phones are not even reported. 

        Many people causing accidents because of using a cell phone are never ticketed, or are ticketed for Inattentive Diving.   One of my neighbors was rear-ended, when traffic stopped on I-35, by a woman doing 75 MPH and she never touched the brakes.  She caused a multiple car accident, but luckily no one was seriously hurt.  She was given a ticket for inattentive driving.  What a joke. 

        Most of us know of people that have lost their lives because of cell phones.  A drunk driver who kills someone might serve decades in jail, but someone who causes a death while using a cell phone probably will get off with a minor fine. 

        Watch other drivers on the road.  When you see erratic diving, it is probably someone on a cell phone.  I use to think an erratic driver was probably intoxicated.  Now it’s usually a cell phone. 

You better drive defensively because they’re not.  I have personally been run off the road and had several other close calls caused by people on cell phones.

        Don’t think texting while driving is the only problem.  Most tests and studies show that even talking on a hands-free phone is comparable to driving drunk.  Do you think you are an exception?  Bull Shit.  Don’t kid yourself. 

I am one of the best multi-taskers I know, and I can’t talk on the phone and drive attentively.  I have never seen anyone who could.

        I recognize the danger of inattentive driving.  Any distraction for even a moment can be a life and death distraction.  Cell phones are not the only cause of inattentive driving.  Reading, reaching for something, lighting a cigarette, or changing a CD can be a killer, but cell phones are the real killer. 

        Why don’t we forget about new gun control legislation that has zero chance of being effective and do something about a real killer like cell phones.  Maybe all cars and trucks should have a jamming device to make cell phones inoperable.  That could really save the lives of some innocent children.