My father purchased a 1938 Packard (I'm also a 1938 model) and, since radios had to be added ( big box of tubes which sat on the floor, with a cable attached tuner that was mounted on the steering column) that was exactly the warning that he was given.. That tuning the radio would cause him to crash the car. He told me that the persons giving the warning were, without exception, "slow" people. From 1938 to 1957, when he left this mortal coil, he never crashed the car.
I have always been amazed at the people who, apparently cannot do any two things at one time, thinking that the rest of the population is likewise limited. Helicopter pilots routinely fly with the left hand on the cyclic, right hand on the stick, left foot on the left rudder, right foot on the right rudder, and talking, through a headset into at least one, and usually two, and sometimes four, radios. Formula One drivers routinely drive over a hunderd miles an hour while talking on the radio.
What this means is that there should be a graduated driving license, just like they have in Germany. They take a two-week intensive course, costing thousands of dollars, and if they are slow, they get a limited license that allows local roads only, no autobahn driving.
I am always tempted to respond to a person who says one cannot drive and talk on the radio, with, "you mean *you* can't." because that is probably the truth, but no one wants to hear it, and I am too nice to say it. American democracy being what it is, they just want to drag everyone down to the lowest common denominator - if *I* can't do it then *no one* should be able to do it.
