Drive by

Today, Colorado put into effect its new laws concerning cell phones. Texting is illegal for all ages while driving, and being on the phone at all is outlawed for people under 18.

I find this age restriction ridiculous. According to Colorado Teen Driving laws, after one year of having your license, you can drive with two people in the car. And if you got your license at the normal age, you get this privilege at 17.

Let's think about this logically. If at 17, I can drive two people not related to me or in a medical emergency, then that creates both an auditory and a visual stimulation, thus creating an auditory and visual distraction. At 18, I can talk on the phone, which is only an auditory stimulation and distraction.

Did you catch the mistake? Mistake in the law, I mean, not in my logic. If they're concerned about driving safety, why are we concentrating on cell phones and not passengers? Why not up the age we can drive people? Why let anyone drive anyone else at all?

We're starting to cross the line into the absurd. If you trust me to drive two people outside of my family, in addition to family members, at the same time, they why can't you trust me to be on the phone? The texting I understand completely, but talking on the phone doesn't make you look anywhere else. Your visual concentration remains the same.

Let's pick an age, everyone. Allegedly, we become adults at 18. We can fight in the military, get married, vote, and go to jury duty. However, we can't drink, adopt a child, or own a handgun. Why is there a difference? What happens during those three years that make me more trustworthy with alcohol, children, and guns?

Age restrictions are silly when they're inconsistent with logic.