Driving and Cell Phones

Here's the latest news. Starting Oct 1st 2005 cell phones are banned in cars, unless you have a handsfree device. If you get caught be prepared to pay a $100 fine. The law also applies to using other devices including IPods and Blackberries.

Cell phone use while driving pros and cons? What is the problem of talking on a cell phone, and driving at the same time? Have you ever been cruising along, and the driver in front of you appears not to know what he's doing? We have, and then to our amazement we realize that they're on the cellphone!

Here in Connecticut it's not a good idea to talk on a cell phone while driving, and we may even have a law against it by now. It is an extremely debated subject.

The first cell phones
But think about it, wasn't the first cell phone a car phone? A mobile phone, that only the rich had the privilege of owning? We can remember when the mobile phone first got popular. It started with businessmen always needing to keep in touch with their companies. The car phones were big, bulky and attached to their car. My how cell phone technology has advanced.

Driving is a privilege
They say, driving is a privilege, not a right, and an increasing number of accidents are caused because people are on their cell phones. They are trying to make laws against anything that you are doing to distract yourself from concentrating on driving, such as, eating your McDonalds, and some accidents happen from just fooling with the radio. The fact is, driving takes concentration. Your full attention is needed especially in high traffic areas, and during rush hour. If you're sitting in traffic that is backed up because of an accident, it should be okay to call someone to talk, just to pass the time.

Aggressive drivers
How do cell phones cause stress in people? We find it difficult to talk on the phone and drive at the same time, so we don't do it. If someone calls, we say, I'm driving, let me call you back. Think about it. Suppose the phone call you get while driving, is someone that is aggravated because your late or something. That can cause stress and a tendency to become an aggressive driver. Ever drive pass someone that looks like they 're yelling in the phone?

Pros and cons
One advantage of having cell phones is that you have access to emergency situations, or if your car gets stalled on the side of the road. But sometimes, with cell phones in many peoples hands, we kind of feel like big brother is watching, and if we do anything wrong then someone is going to use their cell phone to call the police. But this should actually be an encouragement for us.

It could be a great advantage if a person is stuck on the side of the road and doesn't have a cell phone, and you call them in. A few years back, we wish we would have had a cell phone, because we got cut off by a huge semi-truck driving in the wrong lane. The officer I reported it to later said, Did you get the license plate number? No, I didn't get the plate number, it shook me up too bad.

Here's a cell phone driving advantage, or, why driving with a cell phone is good. With the strange activities going on lately, it is definitely a relief to be able to immediately report something that seems unusual. So, as you can see there are some advantages of having a cell phone while driving. But please, it's best to keep your personal conversations for a time when you're not driving. It would make us all feel a lot better and safer.

Funny Cell Phone Story
Let me tell you, women drivers are a hazard to traffic. Driving to work this morning on the freeway, I looked over to my left and there was a woman in a red Mustang doing 85 miles per hour with her face up next to her rear view mirror putting on her eyeliner! I looked away for a couple seconds and when I looked back she was halfway over in my lane! It scared me so bad I dropped my electric shaver in my coffee, and it spilled all over my cell phone!