People think state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, is anti-cell phone because he wrote the law that, since July 1, has required California drivers to use hands-free cell phone devices when they are behind the wheel. Not true. Simitian told me, "I'm not hostile to cell phones."

It so happened that Simitian was driving and talking via hands-free technology when he returned my call Monday. My beef: It's too easy for California lawmakers to pass laws against unpopular behavior. It's like the cool kids passing laws against nerds -- except the nerds are in charge.

"I would not have spent six years working to get this thing passed if I had not believed it would save lives," said Simitian, citing a report, "What to Expect from California's Hands-Free Law," released by the Public Policy Institute of California, that predicted his law would prevent 300 fatalities each year.

Saving lives. It was the argument cell-phone restrictionists used even in the early years of cell-phone use, when studies found that other activities -- adjusting music, eating or drinking -- distracted drivers more than cell phones.

The fact that other distractions were more prevalent didn't matter. People have an instinctual dislike of other people talking and driving. It became Sacramento's job to line up the factoids to make a ban on gabbing and driving seem The Right Thing To Do.

To wit: In 2004, the California Highway Patrol cited cell-phone use as a contributing factor in 931 of that year's 441,334 collisions. According to California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Fran Clader, preliminary statistics for 2007 show 1,091 crashes in the state with a driver using a handheld cell phone; 447 people were injured in those crashes.

Clader herself was in a car that was broadsided by a woman who was chatting on her cell as she sailed through a red light. I sympathize. We've all heard the stories. But the other universal element in these accidents is: bad drivers.

In essence, the Legislature passed and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law to ban an activity deemed to be a factor, not necessarily the cause, in less than 1 percent of collisions. Continued...