One morning in Manhattan I was sitting in the semipermanent traffic jam just south of Canal Street. A sublimely oblivious young woman, traveling westbound, had pulled into an intersection and got caught in the middle when it changed. Instead of pulling forward into a nice car-sized gap in the right-side parking lane -- a simple maneuver that would have freed up a lane or two -- she just sat there yakking on her cell phone. She was blocking all the northbound AND southbound commuter traffic, creating instant gridlock. Most remarkable of all, she was completely ignoring the combined fury of all those northbound and southbound New York City commuters.

I was one of them. I lost my temper. I turned off my car, put on the parking brake and flashers, got out, and walked over to her driver's-side window. She didn't look up. I rapped sharply on the window. She looked up for the briefest of moments, obviously bored, and went back to her phone call.

That's when I really lost my temper. I was wearing heavy-soled electrician's boots, now with a fair amount of sand, gravel, and mud stuck to their soles. I took a step back from the woman's car and gave her door a nice hard, flat-footed kick. Her car visibly shook. She looked up at me again, just as briefly, and went back to her stupid phone call.

I went back to my car and restarted it. The light changed. The woman and I both departed the intersection.

I expected that my husband, the automotive pacifist, was going to yell at me for that one, but it turned out he entirely approved. I told him I was just as glad she hadn't gotten out and taken a look at her revised door panel before driving off.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden

A man talking on his cell phone while driving near Camp Verde, AZ, stopped the car and stepped out of it to get a better signal, staying so deep in his conversation that he didn't notice the car rolling toward a 300-foot drop, police said. (from the "Cleveland Plain Dealer")

Les Russell

We don't need more Big Brotherism in this country or further pandering to the "there oughta be a law" crowd. ANY activity in a car that distracts the driver is a bad thing. Eating Big Macs (bet you have), drinking coffee (ban cup holders!), putting on makeup, reading the paper, TALKING TO THE BOOB BESIDE YOU...the list is seemingly endless.

You guys fail to see the real problem, which is just bad driving. Why aren't you ranting about the pathetic driver-licensing laws we have in this country?

Bill Cline

I would like to see a bumper sticker that states: Put the Phone Down -- Your Driving Sucks with Both Hands.

Harry Feinmel

Cell phone use while driving is illegal in the Netherlands. Belgium enacted laws against it recently, and Germany has a law that the driver may use a cell phone only while the car is stopped and the engine is turned off. I seldom advocate the importation of any European laws, but I think these may be reasonable.

Harris

I was sitting at a red light here in Stillwater, OK, when I looked in my rearview mirror. Approaching at a high rate of speed was a woman with a cell phone held directly in front of her face. This woman was screaming into her cell phone! She apparently finished her conversation because she threw the phone down, then locked up her brakes and slid to a halt just millimeters from my back bumper. When I turned to look, in disbelief, the woman gestured to me with one of her middle digits.

I blame it on cell phones.

Sincerely,

R. P.

I have a possible solution to the lousy-driver problem. The guilty party is issued a Yugo; should the jerk survive the first year, said jerk may upgrade to an Aspire.

Keep up the nagging. Thanks for letting me vent.

Sue
Ohio

Our year-old daughter just received a Playskool Sparkle Buggy as a birthday present. The buggy is a little pink plastic car that she can sit on and shuffle around. And just to the left of the little steering wheel is a yellow cell phone hooked to the dashboard.

Our daughter is now shuffling around the living room floor with one hand on the wheel and the other with the phone to her ear, saying, "Bwak, bwak, bwak." To teach her the hazards of driving while talking, do you think we should put another kid on another Sparkle Buggy in the same room, and let them talk and run into each other?

Tom Sluis

I moved to Singapore five months ago and miss your lousy radio show. Thought you might be interested in the penalty for using a cell phone while driving here: immediate, on-the-spot confiscation of phone; $1,000 fine or six months in jail, or both; 12 demerit points or license revoked.

Roger Bye

Thought you'd like this, from our local paper:

Todd Witte had his hands, and ears, full. The 33-year-old had two cell phones with him last week as he drove near St. Joseph. They rang simultaneously, so he answered both phones. Police noticed the car as it weaved around on the road. They also noticed that Witte was talking on two phones at the same time. When police asked why he was talking on two cell phones, Witte said that they both rang at the same time. He was cited for inattentive driving.

Bob Elliott