Driven to Distraction by Distracted Drivers?

Then you'll want to check out Maureen Dowd's column today about the dangers of driving while distracted by devices.

I've been known to confiscate my husband's Blackberry before he takes my daughter out for a drive. Because I undestand the addictive allure of it, I really do. But my empathy would not extend into forgiveness if crashed with our baby because he was reading a Google Alert.

I recently turned off my own phone. I weaned myself by first removing the email and Internet connection, then turning off the phone all together. It seemed like such a radical decision, and I dickered over it for weeks, but now that it's gone, so what? The world has kept right on turning, and I'm not spending $70+ bucks a month to make myself available to others 24/7.

It's also kind of fun to announce to others that you don't have a phone, just to see the jaws slacken. And that makes me feel kind of cool and smug. I'm a rebel, baby. With a baby. And no phone to call my own.