January 1999
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We were shocked at the amount of mail we received over the "cell phone" column ![[bluecar2.gif]](/common/images/bluecar2.gif)
we wrote some weeks ago. While we expected to get hate mail from the cell phone
industry (we'll print that in an upcoming column), we were stunned by how many
readers agreed with us -- that using a cell phone while driving is inherently
dangerous (OK, we opined that "it's immoral, unethical, inconsiderate and
downright stupid," and ought to be prohibited). We complained about being cut
off and swerved into by distracted drivers with phones against their ears.
Here's a sampling of the mail we received:
Dear Tom and Ray: Whatever you guys do, DON'T back down on this! I live and drive in Plano (Dallas), the yuppie capital of the world, and everyone who wants to think they're anyone has an SUV (stupid useless vehicle) and a permanent phone in their ear as they barrel down the road, blissfully not signaling because their hands are full. If they don't make all phones illegal, they at least ought to make the only legal ones voice-dialable and hands-free! Keep up the good work! - - Barb *** Dear Tom and Ray: No question, just a comment: While at a store recently, I was hit by a shopping cart driven by a woman with a cell phone stuck to her ear. Later, I was lucky enough to see her driving away in her minivan still talking on the cell phone. I say "lucky" because at least she was in front of us. -- Greg *** Dear Tom and Ray: My contention is that most people use, at best, half their brains when they drive, and using the car phone takes away from THAT half. I recently read an article quoting test results indicating that the accident rates for car phone users are similar to people whose blood-alcohol level is at or above legal limits. -- Barbara *** Dear Tom and Ray: Read your recent column about cell phones in cars. Yeah, you'll probably get lots of bad press, hate mail, etc., but this ain't one of them. I salute you for taking the sensible, rational, logical and statistically proven position that using a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as DUI. In some countries, it is illegal to do so unless you have a hands-free model and punishable by fines that make car-pool lane violations seem like petty cash.-- Bill *** Dear Tom and Ray: You are right! right! right! about motorists not using car phones. Yesterday, a lady in a Camaro pulled out right in front of me from a side street. My little car screamed when I applied the brakes. She never looked my way because she was deep into conversation on her mobile phone. She never even realized how close she came to having a 1996 Plymouth Breeze crammed up her tailpipe. -- Norma *** Dear Tom and Ray: I also think the car insurance companies should INCREASE the rates they charge to people who use car phones! They should do a statistical study to find how many accidents involve the use of car phones. I think the results would be shocking. Car phones have got to be costing them lots of money ... and we all know how the insurance companies feel about losing money! -- Bill *** Dear Tom and Ray:
You have a very wide audience and a clear venue in which to put forth the
message of this extremely dangerous practice. Is there any way we can promote a
nationwide movement to pass laws banning the use of hand-held phones while
actually driving? I understand that some European countries have already
instigated such laws. -- Eileen
Tom: Ray: To buy or not to buy -- options, that is. Are options worth what you pay for them, or are you better off just going with the basics? Order Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?" to find out. To order, send © 1999 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Back to the January 1999 index |
(check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also [Latest | Previous | Next | Random | Search | Browse | ]
