Dear Tom and Ray:

I would like your help in finding a flip cellular phone to use in a 1995 Lexus LS400. We need the handset only. To purchase it from the dealer would cost around $750. Can you believe that? I wonder if you can help. -- Paul

Ray: We can help, but we won't, Paul. We're opposed to the use of cell phones in cars for anything other than emergencies. We think it's immoral, unethical, inconsiderate and downright stupid.

Tom: I would say that four out of five times that I see drivers do dumb things on the road (cutting me off, drifting into my lane or pulling out of a driveway without looking), they've got cellular phones up to their ears. It's obviously too distracting for people to think, talk on the phone, and drive at the same time, and it ought to be illegal.

Ray: Why is it more distracting than listening to the radio? Because it's interactive. Someone is speaking to you, which requires you to listen, process what's being said, and then respond. And having a conversation requires a certain amount of brain power -- brain power that is then NOT being used to operate a 3,000-pound moving vehicle.

Tom: And why is it more distracting than having a conversation with a passenger? Well, for one thing, a passenger can see when you're trying to merge into traffic, or back out of a driveway, and will usually understand if you stop speaking and concentrate on the task at hand. The person on the other end of the cell phone has no idea what's going on with you. Not to mention that you never have to take your eyes off the road and "dial" the person in the passenger seat.

Ray: I know we're going to get tons of hate mail -- especially from the cell- phone makers and service providers -- but that's our position. We think cell phones in cars are unsafe. My favorite cell phone cartoon is of a guy who has crashed head-on into another car. Both cars are smashed beyond belief. The guy who caused the accident is speaking on his cell phone, and the caption is "I'll have to call you back."

Stop the madness! You can stop driving like a knucklehead, and you'll help your car in the process. Learn how your driving habits can harm your car in Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1998 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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