by Gloria Allen

Created on: October 30, 2007   Last Updated: January 31, 2008

For a number of reasons, yes. This business of talking on the cell phone while driving is selfish, and dangerous. And might I add, unnecessary.

Ever since the automobile was invented, people did perfectly well driving without cell phones. A drive was considered a respite from the grind of daily life, of forced conversation and of having to politely listen to tedious bores. A drive was more than a private commute to work - it was a kind of vacation also, a way to get away from it all, a kind of meditation in motion, allowing one to take in the surroundings without having to go to the movies. It allowed one to breathe fresh air in privacy, to be free from the constraints of marriage by taking time out, down-time, a way to keep one's cool. The car, like the house was considered an American stamp of affluence, freedom and independence, while those in other less privileged countries were forced to ride public transportation. Way back then, when sanity ruled, nobody would have broken the sacrosanct bond between yourself in and with the privacy of your car.

But now, this annoying piece of technology is the bane of all common-sense, of piece of mind and of road safety. Now everyone wants to have it all. Everyone is in a rush. No one wants to stop their car and make the call; or wait until one is off the road to receive one. No one wants to believe that a potential accident is waiting to happen while on the phone. No one wants to accept the fact that other's lives are potentially being endangered by a driver using a cell phone. Denial of personal responsibility is all the (road) rage, because the need to make more and more money to pay for living beyond one's means by getting there as quickly as possible has created the multi-task frenzy that has reached critical mass.

The other day some thoughtless person in her humungous SUV was talking on her cell phone, went right through the STOP sign and nearly plowed into me decapitating me, had it not been for my honking and stopping suddenly.

There are so many reasons why people should not use the cell phone while driving. For starters, unless a person is handicapped and has developed a definite skill of driving with their feet, two hands are required to drive if shifting. So that means that the cell phone must be balanced on the shoulder while shifting, with the face holding it in place. How is this possible? Other components of safe driving include the necessity of possessing mental concentration, so not watching movies (an added

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>