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EDITORIAL: Keep your hands free, your driving safe

Thousands of drivers are finding out that texting, emailing and talking on cellphones doesn't pay. These are the 46,000 B.C. drivers who got hit with $167 fines for fiddling with their phones while driving.

Thousands of drivers are finding out that texting, emailing and talking on cellphones doesn't pay.

These are the 46,000 B.C. drivers who got hit with $167 fines for fiddling with their phones while driving.

But what about the folks who were involved in the 26 accidents causing death where driver distraction was the cause during the same 18-month period those tickets were issued?

How do they or the families left behind feel?

It's true that these tickets are a nuisance but, in fact, the goal is to save lives, not make life difficult for people. According to police, there were fewer deaths caused by distracted driving during the months the fines were enforced.

There was a time before cellphones when you missed a call or the answering machine caught it. Those days are long gone but cars are no place to carry on a conversation.

What do you think?Would you text, email or take a call in your car if you thought you could get away with it? Vote in our online poll.