Keep your eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel

We can accept warnings about the danger of talking on a cell phone while driving. We can even accept warnings to drivers about rubber-necking or reaching behind them to spank children who are misbehaving. But when a mother has to be told that it's dangerous to breast-feed her baby while driving on the Ohio Turnpike, we wonder whether common sense has taken a holiday on America's highways and byways.
Catherine Nicole Donkers, who was tried in Portage County Municipal Court on charges of child endangerment, failure to comply with the order of a police officer, driving without a license and violating child restraint laws, maintained that she did nothing wrong in breast-feeding while driving.
Can anyone spell stupid?
Never mind that Donkers placed herself and her child in harm's way, but she was also a menace to other drivers. What would have happened had the baby started choking? Her maternal instincts would have taken over -- and her response would have affected her control of the car.
Such stupidity is inexcusable. It doesn't matter that she and her husband, Brad Lee Barnhill, belong to the Christian Fellowship for Eternal Sovereignty, a religious group that has a history of challenging state law. Barnhill says he is a minister in the fellowship with 650 followers. During the court proceeding, he wanted to stand in for his wife at trial, arguing that he should be the one being prosecuted since his religion dictates that he is the only one who can punish her.
"I directed her to do everything she did that day," Barnhill said. "Under our faith, she obeys me."
Fine, the prosecutor should charge him with aiding and abetting in Donkers' violations of the law.
Late Friday, she was convicted on the three traffic counts, but acquitted on the endangerment charge. Sentencing will come at a later date.
National study
Donkers' trial lends credence, albeit unintentionally, to a national study released this week that shows the extent of driver distraction. Interestingly, cell phone use was not the leading cause of inattentiveness. More commonplace were drivers leaning over to reach for something or fiddling with the radio dials.
The study by AAA auto club and researchers at the University of North Carolina tracked 70 drivers from North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The drivers had miniature cameras placed in their cars for a week, and researchers randomly selected three hours to view their behavior.
The conclusion: All drivers fiddle with their car radios or carry on conversations with passengers (this behavior invariably involves looking at the individual while talking) -- even when they're being monitored.
The study is a good first step in focusing the public's attention on this persistent problem. In June, the federal government and the Governors Highway Safety Association asked states to start recording whether distractions played a role in accidents.
"We never have taken seriously that we need to be 100 percent attentive to our driving," says Jim Champagne, a former Louisiana state trooper who heads the state's highway safety commission.
That's why the trial in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna is so important. Donkers and Barnhill must learn that there's a price to be paid for putting others' lives in danger. There can be no excuse for stupidity.