.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Many people were stunned to learn that banning the use of cell phones by drivers doesn’t seem to cut accident rates. Across the nation, experts immediately slid down poles to their emergency action centers and started searching for an explanation.

We know that calling and text-ing cause accidents, they said. So why don’t bans make a difference in accident rates? It’s totally baffling, and we’re going to keep staring at the reports and adding footnotes until it all makes sense.

At the risk of causing layoffs in the problem-studying industry, there may be a simple explanation. It may be that making an activity illegal doesn’t actually make it stop.

It’s a shocking and disappointing thought, when you consider all of the time and money we put into making rules. The federal government churns out rules at an impressive rate. States make rules. Counties and cities make rules. Companies make rules. Your cat makes rules.

Then as soon as we’re out of sight of law enforcement – which is at least 99 percent of the time – we follow the rules we feel like following.

You want citizens to refrain from littering? Many do, for hours at a time. But if a citizen has an empty drink cup in his hand and there’s a roadside just outside his car window, that changes everything.

If you’re sure to get away with it, that’s when you decide that it’s always best to ignore mindless bureaucracy and rely on the kind of common sense that made America great. “Common sense” usually being defined as: “What do I feel like doing at this moment?”

Relatively few laws actually trigger a Morgan Freeman-like voice in our minds, telling us, “Come on, now. This is serious.”

The law against murdering people does pretty well, because most people think it seems reasonable. More important, there’s always the risk that if you murder someone, his friends might drive over to your house and murder you. Even if you wear a disguise and point toward your neighbor’s place.

So, given a choice between a formal bill-signing, where the governor uses a dozen pens, or good, old-fashioned fear of reprisal, go with the fear of reprisal. It really is the magic glue that holds society together.

But research indicates that we started out talking about cell phones.

Every evening as I drive out of downtown Des Moines, I see driver after driver with a cell phone pressed to his or her – usually her – ear. It’s unlikely that they’re all going to drop their phones because a law gets enacted.

It’s quite likely that the only change they’re willing to make is to do less talking and more text messaging. In terms of safety, this is like giving up coal mining so you have more time to build a rocket and launch yourself into low earth orbit.

And if you think “so what?” note that about 37,000 people died in U.S. traffic accidents in 2008. Still nothing? Think of them as customers.

The survivors probably don’t have to worry too much about the government ruining their good times. Sure, we’re getting more cameras at stoplight intersections, but that leaves most of North America wide open. The chances are good that you can continue to talk, text, speed, litter and roll through stop signs with no consequences whatsoever.

Also, the typical carefree driver will be happy to know that text messaging isn’t the final step. At last month’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a major theme was “fun things to do while driving a two-ton vehicle at 100 feet per second.”

The Washington Post reported: “Ford, for example, has a lineup of cars decked out with Internet dashboards that allow people to use Twitter and Facebook and stream Internet radio from behind the wheel.”

I believe there also was some talk about adding a dashboard video monitor for passenger enjoyment. But no looking at it by the driver. That will be a rule.