To the editor:

The National Transportation Safety Board has adopted a recommendation for all states to ban motor vehicle drivers from engaging in electronic activity, even talking on a cellphone with a hands-free device. That made me reflect on what is the difference between banning a driver from talking on a cellphone using a hands-free device and talking with a passenger in the vehicle.

An NTSB spokesperson said their recommendation was motivated by the desire to save lives lost in fatality accidents where drivers are distracted by electronic activity. Safety is, of course, always the goal, and the loss of freedom is always, of course, the best solution. If banning a driver from talking on a cellphone using a hands-free device makes sense, then it makes sense for the same driver to be barred from talking to anyone in the vehicle.

Actually, I would favor making it illegal for a drivers to talk with themselves as well because conversations with yourself are also not protected by the First Amendment.