At the dawn of the auto age in Britain, a law required a motorist to drive behind a man walking with a red flag because cars were considered a hazard to other road users.

Now, a century or so later in the United States, we have legislators and automotive safety organizations suggesting that motorists should only do one thing -- drive -- when in a vehicle.

The point here is that a hysterical reaction to the evolution of technology is not going to serve the best interests of any of us.

Certainly driver distraction -- whether it's due to using a cell phone, texting, programming navigation systems, in-car eating and drinking, applying makeup or combing hair -- is an important issue, but there are no simple solutions.

Concerns over driver distraction are nothing new. Back in the 1960s, Alec Issigonis, the designer of the original Mini, argued that putting a radio in a car (then a novelty) would lessen drivers' attention to their primary task.

Clearly, the auto industry and the buying public disagreed, and now we have cars with a multitude of on-board entertainment systems and monitoring devices, such as trip computers, all of which could be construed as distractions for the driver. The latest hybrid cars, for example, have complex graphic displays that track fuel consumption, energy flows between motors, batteries and regenerative braking systems.

Who's to say whether an avid hybrid driver is distracted when he or she watches those intricate displays while at the wheel?

The use of navigation systems is another thorny issue. Should these systems be programmable while the vehicle is in motion? Some automakers enable the destination programming function only while the vehicle is stationary; others allow people to enter an address on the move. It's a tricky question.

Clearly, it is very frustrating to stop a vehicle to enter a destination, especially if you have a front passenger who can do the job. But, on the other hand, if the driver is trying to use a less intuitive navigation system while moving, the task can be a serious distraction.

When it comes to the use of cell phones and PDAs in a vehicle, the picture becomes very murky indeed.

Recent studies offer conflicting data; some report that any use of cell phones, including hands-free, is dangerous, some say that hands-free is acceptable. Most surveys agree that texting is dangerous but others conclude that entering phone numbers is OK.

Now state legislators are getting in on the act and proposing a confusing patchwork of differing laws, banning certain cell phone/PDA functions and allowing others. For anyone travelling a distance through several states, especially a salesman or a professional who relies on the phone for business, the journey could be fraught with trouble.

As it is, the role of law enforcement in this debate will be extremely challenging. How, for instance, can a traffic cop discern whether someone is texting while driving or simply entering a phone number?

What we need are a commonsense approach and common nationwide legislation. The fact is most of us listen to music in our cars without crashing, and we manage a host of vehicle functions the pioneers of the automobile could have never even imagined.

That said, it's infuriating when you see someone reading a book or newspaper or finishing makeup with a cell phone propped to his or her ear while driving.

Technological progress is inevitable and desirable. We just have to find a sensible way of integrating it into our automotive lives.