They outnumber regular phones now in North America.
Greatest invention or greatest tragedy?

Cell phones, who needs them and who doesn't.
A girl (not a lady, not a teen, a girl) who was in my daughters daycare left the daycare because she was turning 13 and they only go up to 12.
She was really fond of one of the teachers and so, while in school, would text her just to say "Hi" (that'll be ten cents please).

Worse of course is the North American Text Messaging champion, an almost teen who sends 8000 texts a ..... MONTH.

But while I never needed a cell phone when I was a kid (as we had payphones and a dime), the worst possible time to use (or need) a cell phone is.... yeah, in traffic.

The very public issue is, of course, safety. If you are talking (and especially if you are holding the phone), you have to divert concentration away from the vehicles that are heavy enough and go fast enough to kill someone.

To me, the underlining issue is much broader, because it happens more and more in our society (well, North American society anyway) and that's by talking on the phone, diverting your attention, you are SCREAMING out to the other drivers, "you are not as important as I and I shall do as I wish, when I wish, and how I wish"

It's a very common theme these days. I have seen people slip through closing doors simply so they don't have to hold it open for the next person.
Talking on the cell phone while driving means you don't signal lane changes, you don't look where you are turning and you have no vision outside of that special tunnel.

I was cut off the other day on a road leading to a highway. Instead of just going behind me to make the same turn, it was acceleration, tight squeeze between me and the next guy, a sudden stop and then turn, the exact same direction I was going.

No signal, why, can't steer (erratically) and talk at the same time.
They have yet to put anything premium changing (from an insurance perspective) for talking on a cell phone, simply because it's probably too hard to monitor. I don't doubt that we will get to a point where these types of distractions will make invalid the vehicle insurance we carry.

I have a cell phone and I have a hands free unit as well as ear phones and a mic if I really need to talk. Most of the time I will politely say, "I'll call you when I get home" as the lives of the people around me are most important.

Just wish people felt the same way.


This post is dedicated to my new friend Mia as this was her topic.
Someone whom I hope will soon realize that contacting me outside of a poker room won't do her any harm and may do her a world of good.
What do you say Mia???