Put that Cell Phone down before I....

[James Heard]

I don't mind cell phones much, as long as everyone's using some good sense about them. I finally had to smack my father though, because I found out that he'd turned into on of those dudes that would take a cell call during dinner out and crank his voice up a notch because he couldn't hear himself speaking. I had a long talk with him, with illustrations using our phones, about how cell phone mics are really quite awesome and most of the time you don't need to talk louder at all. Part of the problem was that he just wasn't holding the phone right.

I've been known to throw off a quick call to ask if I need to bring something home or over to someone while in the car, but I don't have to dial my numbers on my phone to call someone or to get my messages and really there's mostly no traffic to speak about around here anyways. Usually I find that it's probably more distracting to have music on the radio than to be listening to messages on my cell.

Mostly though, I've got one because it's the best way to get long distance and about half the time the cell phone towers out here come back online before the landlines after a hurricane.

 

[genshou]

I guess I'm one of those guilty parties who talks on his phone while driving.

Of course I'm using a headset, and the conversations are usually very sparse as I am paying too much attention to the road to yak. I just wish all the people around me would do things like signal lane changes and not suddenly accelerate and fly into the same lane I've been signalling a change into for three seconds. Worst part is that most of the drivers can't even use a cell phone as an excuse for their bad driving.

 

[Chaldfont]

I drive 25 miles one-way on interstate highways to work and I see this kind of thing all the time. It really gets to me. Especially since the technology is already there to help us do the right thing.

You know, culture does not move as fast as technology. We are still coming to terms with mobile phones, the internet and such. Remember when your parents taught you how to answer the phone? Most people using mobile phones are members of a generation that where never taught how to use them appropriately simply because we have to learn how.

As a computer programmer, I wish I could hack the OS of my phone. Here's just a few features that would be soooo easy to implement:

Use the GPS in the phone to detect when you are driving, and screen all incoming calls. The caller gets a message like "The person you are calling is in a moving car. Would you like to leave a voicemail instead?"

Use the clock in the phone to automatically set ring volume to silent mode based on a preset schedule. I don't need the ringer when I'm at work--it just annoy's my coworkers.

Use the GPS in the phone to detect when you are in a "no phone zone" such as theaters, hospitals, doctors' offices and such. Let business sign up to be on this list. All phones within the zone automatically go to silent mode and screen calls as above.

 

[Merkuri]

Use the clock in the phone to automatically set ring volume to silent mode based on a preset schedule. I don't need the ringer when I'm at work--it just annoy's my coworkers.

I think I've seen this on a phone before. I believe it was one of those expensive phones that isn't available with the cheap plan I'm on.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Use the GPS in the phone to detect when you are driving, and screen all incoming calls. The caller gets a message like "The person you are calling is in a moving car. Would you like to leave a voicemail instead?"

How do you tell the difference between someone driving a car, and someone who's a passenger in a car/bus/train/ferry?

-Hyp.

 

[thatdarncat]

I have a headset for calls made while in the car. (or when my hands are otherwise occupied)

For the most part I restrict calls to necessary or very brief when ever needed. What I've noticed from observing other drivers is yes, the lack of hands is an issue but no more of an issue than say taking a drink or eating a sandwich. It's the people who treat the conversation or their breakfast as more important than driving who're a danger.

 

[SpiderMonkey]

My own rant on cellphones after being stuck behind far too many people using them in crowded, choked hallways at the U.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...&MyToken=df8ee181-ab7e-4e7b-b4e3-d71cffc0479c

Please note, it is _not_ "Eric's Grandma" friendly.

 

[Merkuri]

How do you tell the difference between someone driving a car, and someone who's a passenger in a car/bus/train/ferry?

What would be better would be to have a sort of "away message" you can turn on your phone so that people know you're not available to take a call and they can leave you a voice mail. This button should be easily acessible, so you can push it just as you sit down in your car.

Oh, wait... that's the "off" button.

 

[thatdarncat]

I guess I'm one of those guilty parties who talks on his phone while driving.

Of course I'm using a headset, and the conversations are usually very sparse as I am paying too much attention to the road to yak. I just wish all the people around me would do things like signal lane changes and not suddenly accelerate and fly into the same lane I've been signalling a change into for three seconds. Worst part is that most of the drivers can't even use a cell phone as an excuse for their bad driving.

Exactly. Cell phones are part of the problem but I've been in far more near misses caused by bad driving without cell phones involved.

 

[sniffles]

You know, culture does not move as fast as technology. We are still coming to terms with mobile phones, the internet and such. Remember when your parents taught you how to answer the phone? Most people using mobile phones are members of a generation that where never taught how to use them appropriately simply because we have to learn how.

That's a good point, Chaldfont. And etiquette evolves with the culture. When I was a kid I was taught that you stand up when meeting someone, address your elders as "ma'am" or "sir", and turn the television off when visitors come to your home. No one does any of those things anymore. Even shaking hands seems to be going away, replaced by touching knuckles if any kind of physical contact is involved in a greeting at all.

Eventually we'll develop some kind of etiquette for cell phone use, and that etiquette may just be that you always answer it when it rings and talk extra-loud while you're using it.

Not to mention that all those irritating cell-phone-using drivers may be just as bad at driving when they're not on the phone.