August 8, 2003 5:35 AM

Nice try, y'all....

You heard it here first: Cell phone ban in Texas is bogus

This has gone WAY too far. Even managers at work have been circulating emails warning us about this pending change in the law. There's just one problem: it's not true.

There goes technology, confusing the mortals again.

Aided by lightning-fast e-mail, a rumor that driving while talking on a cell phone soon will be illegal in Texas has been spreading like the use of cell phones while driving.

The office of state Rep. Jose Menendez, whose proposal to require hands-free speaking devices in cars died in March, has been flooded with calls over the past two weeks. Everyone from the AARP to the wife of a fellow lawmaker has been asking when the new cell phone ban would take effect.

AARP spokeswoman Carole Barasch said rumors of the ban were thick among senior citizens, many of whom participate in a driver's safety training course that keeps them up to date on road rules.

"We wish it would have passed," said Colin Strother, chief of staff for Menendez, D-San Antonio.

No one can pinpoint the rumor's origin, but Strother said several news outlets printed or broadcast the erroneous information, including the Uvalde Leader News. The Leader News says it got the information from Uvalde Police Chief Sam Russell, who forwarded to the newspaper a fax that had come from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

"We got snookered," said Adam Yanelli, the paper's managing editor.

Hey, come on; it was on the Internet, so it must be true. Right??

Remember, this is Texas, where driving while distracted is the national sport. Not all that long ago, it was legal to drink while driving. Nothing like a cold beer and a cell phone to make than long drive back to the ranch a bit more endurable, eh?

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 8, 2003 5:35 AM.

Rebel without a cloo.... was the previous entry in this blog.

If no one asks questions, are we all complicit? is the next entry in this blog.

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