It's driving me nuts.

MURRIETA, California - When the light starts to flash, you had better have the cash. That's the reality for millions of subprime borrowers whose used car purchase is contingent upon having an unusual option: a little box mounted underneath the dashboard that forces them to make their payments on time. A light on the plastic box flashes when a payment is due. If the payment isn't made and the resulting code punched in to reset the box, the vehicle won't start. The next step is a visit from the repo man.

Finally, somebody is using their head. There are already devices to keep drunks from starting a car, now this. Next, let's build an insulated car that keeps cell phone signals out. It's beyond ridiculous now with the phones. Who are these people talking to? I see them leaving their driveways on the phone. Couldn't they make the call from the house? How did we ever survive without being able to chat while driving? My life was so empty 15 years ago.

There are anti cell phone laws in many states, and California is about to be the sixth state to enact a law requiring a hands-free device on July 1, but it's more strict if you're a kid ...

Q: Am I allowed to use my wireless telephone hands free?

A: No. Drivers under the age of 18 may not use a wireless telephone, pager, laptop or any other electronic communication or mobile services device to speak or text while driving in any manner, even hands free. Exception: Permitted in emergency situations to call police, fire or medical authorities.

But not everyone sees it the same way, which is what makes the states united, sort of. A bill was passed in the Maryland state senate last month, but died in the House Environmental Matters Committee, who apparently thinks it doesn't Matter. It seems that people from Maryland are able to drive and yak on the phone, but people in New Jersey and California cannot. They're so much better than us.
Driving in Nova Scotia is difficult on several levels...

The Nova Scotia government made an amendment to the Smoke-free Places Act making it illegal to smoke in a motor vehicle while a child under 19 years of age is present. “This legislation is another important step in protecting the health of all Nova Scotians,” declares Health Promotion and Protection Minister Barry Barnet. “Children and young people are susceptible to the effects of second-hand smoke, especially in an enclosed space such as a car. ”The fine for smoking in a car with children present is $394.50, says Corp. Kendall.

New Jersey tried that "no smoking" deal a while ago. Merely bringing it up created such a furor that it was quickly tabled. So, they passed a ban on cell phone usage that made it illegal to use a cell phone while driving. What it did was make criminals out of thousands of drivers who now are seen talking, driving and scanning the horizon for the police. It's distracted driving taken to the highest degree. The law that is supposed to make us all safer has created a race of drivers who have the added distraction of looking for the police. Am I the only one who finds that odd?

It has been said that driving is a privilege. If that is true, then the privilege extends to cup holders, smoking, using a cellular phone, radar detectors, tinted windows and GPS devices. How can a law ban cell phone usage and not those GPS devices stuck to the front window? Can you drive and (more importantly) pay attention while you're staring at a 3-inch screen telling you where to turn? It seems that the more laws are passed to prohibit distractions, the more distractions there are. Why not allow DVD players in the steering wheel? If we're going to be soft on driving, why do it half-assed?

Researchers conclude that requiring U.S. motorists to use hands-free devices while talking on their cell phones won't necessarily improve their driving. The mental distractions caused by yakking is increasingly seen as a greater handicap to safe driving than having only one hand on the steering wheel. There is a common misconception that hands-free phones are safer when the research clearly suggests that they they're both equally risky, said Arthur Goodwin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.
Goodwin told the Los Angeles Times the phenomenon of cognitive capture occurs while drivers are engrossed in a conversation and causes them to be less aware of what is going on around them.

Try to explain cognitive capture to the driver who is mindlessly yakking to someone on the phone. They'll tell you that they pay a lot of money for the phone and they'll damned well use it where they please, and if we don't like it, we can go pound sand.

Automobiles stopped being transportation devices a long time ago. They're rolling entertainment centers. It's not enough that we're going someplace, we have to get there in the ultimate comfort - like a little rolling living room. Reclining heated seats, a heated steering wheel, 2 cup holders per seat (how much can we drink?), satellite radio, DVD players in the back seat for our ADD kids, headphone jacks for their iPods, a thermometer to tell us how hot or cold it is outside - supposedly to make us feel better about being in the car. With all the junk the auto makers put in to pamper us, we still feel like talking to people on the phone. Some folks are just never happy.

It's gotten so bad that we have to make laws to prohibit the very behavior that we are being told we deserve. Figure that out in your spare time.

It's getting to the point where we'll need a designated driver even if we're not drunk.