Hang up and drive

WE ADMIT that it has been a long time since we applauded City Council. (And given the way they're dealing with DROP and the city's budget crisis, it may be a long time before we do it again.) But Council deserves credit for passing a ban on using a hand-held cell phone while driving in the city.

Thank you, Council!

Most city drivers can pick out drivers who are yakking on cell phones just by the way those vehicles perform on the road. No one can make a convincing argument that it's not both dangerous and stupid to be talking while driving. We hope Mayor Nutter agrees and signs the bill.

There is a potential hitch if the law passes; the state has claimed that the city doesn't have the right to enforce such a law, but the bill's sponsors, Bill Green, William Greenlee and Frank Rizzo, have presented it as public-safety issue - which it most certainly is.

We hope that rather than challenge the city's bill, Harrisburg uses the opportunity to fast-track its own state law. It was introduced in March by state Rep. Josh Shapiro, of Montgomery County, and is awaiting action in the House Transportation Committee. *