Rant: Okay, enough now, this is STUPID

Too often when I am driving between IntoMobile Towers and other destinations, do I still find people in the UK holding phones to their ears (for those of you that don’t know, that’s illegal over here!). It is absolutely infuriating, because it is so dangerous, and yet people flaunt it on a regular basis. I’m not sure who is more dangerous, the school mom with kids in the back (!), doing her make-up and talking on the motorway, or the businessman in his ‘pimped’ 4×4, not paying any attention to what’s going on in front of him, but shouting furiously in to his work phone….

At any rate, TAKING ONE HAND OFF THE WHEEL, AND DISTRACTING YOUR BRAIN AT THE SAME TIME, AT 80 MPH ON THE MOTORWAY, TURNS YOU IN TO A VERY POORLY GUIDED (BUT VERY HEAVY) MISSILE.

I can’t even reason the logic out as to how people end up still doing this – do they think they need to be caught once to make them aware, is it because they think they are a good enough driver to compensate, or do they just not give a S**T?

Not very often to I get to the point where my blood boils over something, but this is one of those rare occasions – particularly now since I have two kids, transporting them around should be a relatively safe process – except now I get to play Russian Roulette on the roads, and hoping I don’t come across that one runaway vehicle – chances are, if I do, the driver won’t even have time to brake before they hit me as they’ll be too distracted – and that IS going to hurt – maybe even kill.

PLEASE PEOPLE – GET A HEADSET, A CAR KIT, OR DON’T TAKE THE CALL – IT’S NOT WORTH IT.

About The Author

Ben Robinson

Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.

shawn

dont you think that there are numerous other things that are equally if not more distracting than cell phone use in the car? and its not the physical action of putting the phone to your ear its the fact that your brain is focused on the conversation not the road. same is true when the person is right f**king next to you in the car. so get over your little coniption fit pal.
Acsteffy87

I agree with you when it comes to texting and driving. That is more dangerous than drunk driving in my opinion.

But talking on your phone while driving with one hand is not like juggle bowling pins. if you don’t know how to drive with just one hand then you should not be driving at all, do you know how to drive a stick shift?! And have you never driven with a friend and chatted with them while you drive?
So i don’t understand how that makes you so infuriated, its a little nonsensical.

That being said, it is a law where you live. And whoever is driving needs to abide by the law, period.
Ben Robinson

@shawn – putting the phone to your ear (i.e. driving with one hand) IS less safe than using two hands – FACT. Of course, there’s a distraction element too, but I already mentioned this. The point is, you don’t have to TAKE the call, you don’t have to MAKE the call. Driving and talking on the phone IS dangerous.

@Acesteffy87 – the law is you drive with two hands. Yes, people drive with one hand, but that was never the intention, other than for short periods, where as you say, you change gear, or signal etc. People have the choice to use the phone – my belief is that for the benefit of other road users, they should choose not to (at least not by holding the phone to their ears). The law in the UK is quite clear about this now.