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Cell phone crazy
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OXFORD, Miss. – At one time or another, from any classroom on campus, you are certain to hear the ring of a cell phone that some idiot forgot to turn off. Maybe it’s one of those annoying jingles that gets in your head, or – if you’re lucky – someone has downloaded “Dixie” and it’s blaring over the previously-silent room.
Either way, the number of cell phones on campus is staggering.
Rest assured, that same overwhelmingly popular guy is on the phone again as soon as he steps foot outside of class. If you follow him, you’ll probably catch him mumble the words to clue you in to his intellectual capabilities (you know • “dude” at the beginning and end of every sentence). Inevitably, the conversation will reach its peak as he gets to his car (a Trans Am, what else?). Without a second thought, he wheels out of the parking lot and speeds off while chatting away about polymer science.
So, what’s wrong with this picture?
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that 85 percent of the more than 100 million cell phone customers use their phones while driving in their car. Surprised? I wasn’t. I use cell phones in the car. Chances are, you do too.
But the country is in an uproar about cell phone usage while driving.
Accidents resulting from someone using a cell phone have skyrocketed in the past couple of years. Sadly, so have the deaths.
Last September Brooklyn, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, passed the first ban on cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. Currently, eight states have restrictive legislation pending. At least 15 states have proposed similar bills, only to have them die in committee.
Accidents are occurring; people are dying. But is the current proposal of banning usage while driving really the answer?
Personally, I have a problem with the government telling me when I can and can’t talk on the phone. However, when I become a danger to myself or others, I’d like to think that someone would step in. After all, it’s against the law to consume a certain amount of alcohol and attempt to drive.
I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t swerve when I talk on the phone. I’m not a danger to anyone.” But you’re wrong.
The chances of you getting behind the wheel of your car and having an accident dramatically increase when you’ve got a cell phone in one hand, especially on campus where the driver must be aware of the myriad of pedestrians. If all this is true, why are there so many debates concerning the bans?
Well, for starters, I’m sure the vast majority of Congressmen own and use cell phones while driving down the road. Businessmen and stockbrokers and students (and seemingly everyone else on the road) conduct their business while traveling. Yes, the ability to call someone from your car while en route somewhere else is convenient. It’s extremely convenient. But is it worth it?
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association justifies it by reporting an average of 100,000 calls placed to 911 every day. While the number of lives cell phones may contribute to ending has in no way reached the numbers they may have saved, we still have to consider the possibilities.
When you get right down to it, is it really that imperative that you dial up right there in the middle of 5 p.m. traffic? Probably not. Convenient? Yes. Necessary? No.
I’m not asking you to knock on the window or wave down those that are gabbing while driving (probably not stopping for you in the crosswalks, nonetheless). I’m just asking you to think about the possible consequences beforehand. Keep your road conversations to a bare minimum, and be aware of your surroundings. If you are being bombarded with phone calls because of your enormous popularity, do us all a favor and turn the damn ringer off. Despite your dire need for social acceptance, some people still go to college to learn.
Suzanne McKay, Daily Mississippian (U. Mississippi)