We need limits on dashboard distractions

[Commentary] Movies, video games and Facebook friends soon will be only an arm's length away for drivers as they hurtle down the freeway in the next generation of cars from Detroit. Thank goodness the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reaching for the "hold" button.

The agency has proposed guidelines -- not laws; at least not yet -- for carmakers to make some touch-screen dashboard devices automatically shut down once a car starts moving. This would save lives, guaranteed. Even if you don't think you'd have a problem, imagine teenagers behind the wheel with the temptation of Internet access. Distracted driving is an ever-present risk, whether it's from chattering kids in the back seat, cellphone conversations or that mesmerizing GPS screen. But the coming dashboard devices would deliver a whole new level of eye candy and brain entrapment.