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Cell Phone Danger?
It seems that every week or so we hear a news report of another community somewhere in the US that is considering a ban of cell phone useage while driving.
In most cases, it's the use of the "non-hands free" phones that are in question. I'm sure we've all overtaken a four-wheeler(and sometimes a 6-wheeler, or even 18-wheeler) that is drifting out of it's lane, performing lane changes without benefit of a signal(usually the first thing to tip you off), driving too slow, driving too fast, the list goes on.
How often in passing that same vehicle have we looked over and seen the driver engaged in an animated conversation on his/her cell phone? You know, one hand holding the phone and the other hand occasionally gripping the wheel, unless the driver is trying to make a point to the party on the other end, in which case he/she begins to gesture forcefully, and the vehicle begins drifting across the dotted line.
Actually, it might not be so bad if the driver would stick to the phone only; it really becomes an adventure when he/she combines the call with breakfast, lunch or dinner, tapping the cigarette ash out of the window, applying makeup or reading the paper.
Back in the days before widespread car phone useage, I noticed for myself that when talking at length on the CB, I found my attention wandering, concentrating instead on making witty conversation with another driver. I was never involved in an accident or even a close call because of that, but I was aware that the CB could be distracting and I regard the cell phone even more so.
It would seem most phone calls are longer in length and usually more involved than the brief messages we use on the truck radio, with a greater likelihood of distraction. I figure if any experienced professional driver like myself and the millions of other truck drivers out there can suffer from the distractions of the cell phone and CB, how does that affect those "civilians" in the four-wheelers that have a tough enough time getting from point A to point B without the extra baggage of the phone?
Don't get me wrong, I've carried a cell phone with me for a number of years now, and I think it's a valuable and convenient tool and I wouldn't want to do without it. I admit that I really don't use the hands-free option like I should, but even so, it's the extended conversations that take my mind off the road as much as holding a phone to my ear.
Since the negative press about this problem started a couple of years ago, I've started cutting down on the times I use the phone while driving and have become more aware of the hazards inherent in it's use on the road.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. What do you think?
It seems that every week or so we hear a news report of another community somewhere in the US that is considering a ban of cell phone useage while driving.
In most cases, it's the use of the "non-hands free" phones that are in question. I'm sure we've all overtaken a four-wheeler(and sometimes a 6-wheeler, or even 18-wheeler) that is drifting out of it's lane, performing lane changes without benefit of a signal(usually the first thing to tip you off), driving too slow, driving too fast, the list goes on.
How often in passing that same vehicle have we looked over and seen the driver engaged in an animated conversation on his/her cell phone? You know, one hand holding the phone and the other hand occasionally gripping the wheel, unless the driver is trying to make a point to the party on the other end, in which case he/she begins to gesture forcefully, and the vehicle begins drifting across the dotted line.
Actually, it might not be so bad if the driver would stick to the phone only; it really becomes an adventure when he/she combines the call with breakfast, lunch or dinner, tapping the cigarette ash out of the window, applying makeup or reading the paper.
Back in the days before widespread car phone useage, I noticed for myself that when talking at length on the CB, I found my attention wandering, concentrating instead on making witty conversation with another driver. I was never involved in an accident or even a close call because of that, but I was aware that the CB could be distracting and I regard the cell phone even more so.
It would seem most phone calls are longer in length and usually more involved than the brief messages we use on the truck radio, with a greater likelihood of distraction. I figure if any experienced professional driver like myself and the millions of other truck drivers out there can suffer from the distractions of the cell phone and CB, how does that affect those "civilians" in the four-wheelers that have a tough enough time getting from point A to point B without the extra baggage of the phone?
Don't get me wrong, I've carried a cell phone with me for a number of years now, and I think it's a valuable and convenient tool and I wouldn't want to do without it. I admit that I really don't use the hands-free option like I should, but even so, it's the extended conversations that take my mind off the road as much as holding a phone to my ear.
Since the negative press about this problem started a couple of years ago, I've started cutting down on the times I use the phone while driving and have become more aware of the hazards inherent in it's use on the road.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. What do you think?