The MADD group has done well; now how about a new organization called MAST?

The Mothers Against Drunk Driving have every reason to be proud of the fact their efforts have made intoxicated vehicle operators less of menace to us all.

Now they, or someone, needs to expand their efforts to eliminate cell phone babblers in cars, trucks and such.

Over 20 years, MADD intensity and outreach has lowered the number of traffic deaths due to drinking and the abuse of other substances. There is bad news in the report that the total is now rising again, but that should not lessen the credit due for how much good has been done to date.

The number of alcohol-related deaths on U.S. streets and roads rose the past year to 17,448, up almost 900 from the previous year. It was the second increase in a row, following a steady decline in drunken-driving deaths that began in 1986.

No matter what progress there is, the war on drunken driving cannot be totally successful until there is a “zero” fatality total. That will never occur, of course, and the two recent increases in fatalities show that people again have become complacent, careless and reckless. There remains much to be done.

Now adding to the hazards of motor vehicle operation is the cell phone mess we have on our hands. Latest figures indicate that in the past year, more than 3,000 deaths occurred on U.S. roads and streets because of inattentiveness caused by cell phone usage by drivers. While alcohol can be addictive, so, apparently, can gabbing on a phone while one is driving. One cannot count on the fingers of both hands the number of “motorheads” they encounter on the average outing right here in town. It can get worse on the highways.

So while MADD is continuing its efforts to keep or get drunken drivers separated from motor vehicles, how about a new or subsidiary group called MAST :quot; Mothers Against Stupid Talkers?

Something has to be done. As cell phone abuse while driving proliferates, so will the death, injury and damage toll. It’s time for responsible motorists to take the bumper sticker’s advice to “Hang Up and Drive.”