This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The new distracted driving law is supposed to cut down on accidents from the distractions of a cell phone on the road.

It became abundantly clear to me on April 27 just how important it is to look up and pay attention to the road as a Riverton Police vehicle repeatedly swerved between lanes on I-15 as I drove past with my 5-month-old child in the back seat. Luckily, I was paying attention to avoid an impact.

When I passed the vehicle, I could see exactly what the problem was. The officer had neither hand on the wheel and was turned with full attention on his laptop.

While the law picks and chooses which aspects of cell phone use apply, perhaps we can all take a lesson from the spirit of the law and look up from our cell phones, and laptops, to focus on the road.

Lionel James Lewis

Sandy