The other day I saw a woman driving with a dog on her lap; the dog was sticking his head out the window.  I thought to myself, boy that's got to be unsafe — certainly as unsafe as talking on a cell phone — and I wondered if she would get pulled over and ticketed. 

Later that morning, I almost rear-ended the car in front of me after I spilled hot coffee on my lap. Unsafe?  Yep, but not illegal. And having a conversation with a passenger in my car is probably as distracting as have a conversation on my cell phone. 

My point is, there are many distractions one experiences while driving. But how many of those distractions can we outlaw? Common sense should be the order of the day.

Karen Parisi, Lutherville