If we had even one ounce of technical know-how, we'd be working on a cheap device that could be installed in a car to block cell phone signals while the engine is running.

It would be wired into the ignition system in such a way as to disable the engine if it were disengaged. It might not be foolproof, but our Cell Blocker would be enough to force most people to pull off the road and park while using a cell phone.

It's inevitable: Something like this is coming. Maybe not right away, because politically it would be massively unpopular. But there have been too many studies with too much overwhelming evidence about the dangers of DWC (driving while celling) or DWT (driving while texting) to ignore. Two more were released this month.

Laws against this simply are unenforceable to the degree required to stop the practice. Fourteen states already have laws against texting while driving, and five prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones. Anecdotal evidence suggests most drivers haven't changed their habits.

The only way to stop it is to require all drivers — forecasts say U.S. cell phone penetration, now about 85 percent, will reach 100 percent in four years — to install something like our Cell Blocker on their cars.

Many people will hate this. Just as some drivers still refuse to wear seat belts and some motorcyclists don't want to wear helmets, anti-DWC laws will be seen as an intrusion into personal freedoms. We're not that crazy about it ourselves; a quick office poll revealed only one guy who claims he doesn't regularly drive while chatting on his cell.

Polls show most Americans regard themselves as "above average" drivers. We know that talking on the phone is slightly distracting, but we think it is well within our capabilities. Sure, it might be a good idea to restrict cell phone usage while driving for some people — teenagers, for example — but the rest of us can handle it, and the cell phone has enabled us to multi-task, returning calls while on the road, boosting national productivity.

The evidence suggests we're talking through our hats.

— In 2005, researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center in California demonstrated that talking on the phone and driving are complicated tasks requiring the brain to process new information. As the brain switches between tasks, mental delays create inattention and slower reaction times. Listening to the radio or music or having a casual conversation with a passenger in the car don't create the same kind of problems.

— In 2003, simulations done at the University of Utah determined that drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 — legally intoxicated in all 50 states — have better reaction and better braking times than sober drivers on a cell phone. Other studies show that hands-free devices don't help much, if at all.

— Texting is much worse. A Virginia Tech study released this week showed that even long-haul truck drivers — presumably more skilled than most motorists - were 23 times more likely to be in a crash if they were texting. At highway speeds, when you take your eyes off the road for five seconds your car travels more than 300 feet — unless you hit something first.

Our interest in the Cell Blocker is, of course, altruistic. Mostly. There are 250 million vehicles registered in the United States, so if you're the inventive type, please note: We're going to want royalties.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.