All across the U.S., state and local governments are locked in debates — remarkable only to the extent that some still find the issue debatable — over whether it should be illegal to exchange text messages while at the wheel of a moving vehicle.

Meanwhile, the nation’s transportation secretary has cut through all that absurd fog with a statement of what ought to be, but to some apparently isn’t, the excruciatingly obvious: Distracted driving in America is an “epidemic” and a “menace to society” that claims thousands of lives every year — and it’s getting worse.

Yes, there are reasonable discussions to be had about what kinds of laws need to be passed and at what levels, how they should be enforced, what kinds of exemptions need to be in place, and so forth. But anybody who thinks the dangers of driving while paying attention to everything except the road have been inadequately documented must not have been in a car over the last decade or so.

Here’s some documentation: U.S. DOT statistics attribute 5,870 deaths and 515,000 injuries in 2008 directly to driver distraction, most involving cell phones and text messaging. In 16 percent of all fatal crashes, driver distraction was cited as a factor; alarmingly, that number is higher for fatalities among younger drivers.

The big push to take decisive action against this continuing national outrage is coming from Washington, which means resistance in some quarters will defy not just big government but commonsense. So far, the only federal mandate is President Barack Obama’s executive order banning text messaging by commercial drivers and rail operators whose interstate routes put them under federal law anyway. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has proposed a law requiring states to ban text and e-mail messages by drivers, or lose a chunk of federal highway funding, but that is meeting with some resistance on both economic and political grounds.

There is also reasonable concern that a too-sweeping ban on the use electronic communication devices could actually increase danger by denying drivers access to important traffic, safety or weather information.

But the stark reality behind those largely tangential debates is that even the most careful and responsible motorist is at the mercy of every moron who thinks a steering wheel is that thing you rest your Blackberry on while you reserve this weekend’s tee time.

The debate about who in government should be responsible for banning things like texting and e-mailing at the wheel needs to be resolved quickly. Any “debate” about whether such deadly nonsense ought to be banned at all should have been over several years and several thousand lives ago.

Columbus, Ga., Ledger-Enquirer