Reichley Column: Virginia doesn't need federal meddling

I have not joined the texting generation. I do occasionally get a text message. For example, one time I got a message from a woman in Florida telling me the weather was great and I should be there. I
presume it was a wrong number, but maybe it was a clever campaign by the Florida Tourist industry.

But when it comes to sending texts, I’m all thumbs. For my daughter, like most kids, texting is second-nature, and my plodding attempts are a source of amusement. It takes all my concentration to type
a complete sentence (which is part of my problem, real text is apparently written in code).

So it is no surprise to me that starting July 1st, Virginia banned cell phone texting while driving. Thirteen other states have also banned drivers sending text messages. This makes sense to me. I’d rather
drivers watch the road and what is going on around them, not try to read and interpret messages on a tiny screen. I’m surprised more states have not banned texting.

Virginia also bans people under 18 from talking on cell phones while they are driving. Other laws to ban hand-held cell phones, or enact other restrictions on cell phones while driving, have been introduced
this past year, but failed to get majority approval.

Now, the federal government is threatening to enact a nationwide ban on text messaging while driving. They should stop meddling. I support Virginia’s ban and think other states should follow suit, but the
feds have no business telling us what to do. We are perfectly capable of doing what we think is best for us. We don’t need the federal government treating us like petulant children who can’t take care of
ourselves.

The push to ban texting is based on a Virginia Tech study showing that truckers who are texting have 23 times as many collisions as those who are not. So why doesn’t congress just use their authority
over interstate commerce to ban truckers from texting while driving and leave the rest of us alone?

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration wrote a report in 2002 calling for a ban on all use of cell phones while driving, even hands-free use. The report was ignored then but has
resurfaced, and shows government’s tendency toward authoritarian control.

Studies show that using cell phones while driving can distract drivers. Of course, there are many other distractions in a car, including talking with other passengers, tuning radio stations, programming
GPS devices and yelling at kids in the back seat. It is impractical to ban passengers, and nobody has suggested shutting off radios while driving. But if we allow states to govern their own people, each
state can regulate as little or as much as their constituents want.

So if the people in one state value freedom, and are willing to risk a few more accidents so people can call home while driving, they can do so. And if another state decides highway safety is more
important to them than using their cell phones while driving, they can ban cell phones. This would mean different laws in different states, which seems an unpopular idea lately, but in fact is what our
founders intended when they set up our system of government. Virginians understand this principle — we are the only state that bans radar detectors.

Virginians don’t need congressional meddlers telling us how to take care of ourselves. We can make up our own minds on cell phones. We need the feds to stop passing laws that prevent the states from
doing what is best for their citizens. Remember, a federal ban on commercial operations in rest stops contributed to shutting down our rest areas, making driving more dangerous by eliminating places where drivers could rest.

There are no doubt lots of politicians, many from states suffering because of their own government’s excessive meddling, who want the entire country to suffer from whatever nanny-state regulations they
can dream up. It has gotten so bad that states have started passing laws to protect themselves from excessive federal interference.

Let’s face it — when the federal government thinks it is their job to tell all of us when we can talk on our cell phones, maybe it is time for Virginia to protect our freedoms. At least, our federal legislators
could stand up for Virginians against the onslaught of federal regulations choking our liberty and closing our restrooms.

Charles Reichley has been a Prince William County resident since 1981.