Poll: cell phones

[Ron Wenrich]

Poll expires. 7.17.06

[gary]

I voted ban all cell phone use while driving. When your driving you should be concentrating on driving and only driving. I drive to Cleveland everyday in rush hour traffic and see people weaving all over the road while paying more attention to their phone call than driving. No phone call is worth someone's life!

[Gary_C]

I voted no ban, because it's too late now as the cell phones have become a way of life for everyone in the "fast lane." 

Plus we would also have to ban puting on makeup, reading books, letters, and newspapers, conversing with passengers, etc.   

[DanG]

I voted "No Ban" too, because I'm just sick of things being banned.  Let's just go ahead with life, for crying out loud!

I would recommend that folks use a hands free device, but I don't think there should be a law requiring it.  I use my phone while driving, and can't recall a single near-miss because of it.  If it rings, I can answer it without looking at it, or choose not to answer it if the driving situation dictates that. 

I think most of the people you see having trouble driving and talking are just crappy drivers to start with. :

[IL Bull]

I think most of the people you see having trouble driving and talking are just crappy drivers to start with. :

Ditto that }:c

[Dan_Shade]

I say no ban, I think bad drivers should be taken care of for bad driving.  I don't care what somebody is doing in their car if they can maintain speed, follow at a safe distance, and stay in their lane.

[joelmar10]

I was torn.  I've seen many near misses caused by cell phone usage.  Still I voted no ban.   How about a partial ban for only the "angry talkers" and the "I can't seem to remove the phone from my face while in the car" talkers.   I've seen ladies putting on eyeliner/nail polish and sipping foofy starbuck drinks all while swinging their hand in a conversation on a handheld, blowing a red light and changing lanes without even a glance over their shoulder.

Bad drivers are bad drivers.  And for many, multitasking is best left to a computer.

[Woodcarver]

I voted no.  Dang said it well.  Some drivers just are not good drivers. Would CB use be the next ban?  Truck drivers use them without it causing a problem.  Cell phone's can be used safely if the driver exercises good judgement about when to use them. 

[treecyclers]

As a participant in many near misses, I find that folks that use their cell phone while driving are definitely distracted.
There's few things that scare me more than a blonde in an SUV talking on a cell phone while puttong on her makeup, drinking her coffee from starb***ks, tending to her kids in the backseat, while smoking a cigarette. Now that's either talent, or the scariest thing on the road.
When I drive,  use my hands free ear bud, as I feel it to be safer than any other option.
And, as I drive a vehicle that could potentially be a lethal weapon if improperly operated, especially when fully loaded, (no pun intended) to the little cars on the road, I do all I can to ensure people's safety while in motion.
I'd feel horrible if I crunched someone because I wasn't totally paying attention.
The way I see it, it's a responsibility I have to society when I operate my 1 Ton, as my front bumper sits higher than most car's taillights, and my rear bumper is higher than the front tires on most of them too.
I'd be fairly safe in a wreck, but any car that meets up with me won't fair as well.
Be safe out there!
SD

[Raphael]

No Ban...
They went to hands free only in NY and it hasn't made any real difference I can see.  I suspect all the drivers who went out and bought the hands free device were the safer ones to begin with.

I just did a 420 mile loop yesterday and saw only one case of bad driving that could be said to be linked to cell phone use.  He was sorting through his briefcase while talking on a hands free cell and weaving across 1.5 lanes:
Q: Was it the cell phone that caused the problem or the open briefcase?
A: Neither... it was the idiot at the wheel.

 I saw alot of unsafe vehicle operation that could only be described as extreme stupidity or just bad driving.  The police should spend less time on the side of the highway with their radar guns (chasing revenues) and more time out in traffic removing the people that are causing real problems (but then again some of them shouldn't be driving either).

PS: If you call me on your cell from the road, please don't waste my time, find a good strong signal and park the car in it until the conversation is done.  If the communication is that important then it's equally important that I hear it clearly.

[thurlow]

Article in yesterday's newspaper..........actually from a major wire service, showing results of a controlled test (don't remember who did the testing, but the results are certainly in line with my observations) showing that persons talking on the phone............whether hands-free or not..........had the same driving skills of someone with a blood alcohol content of .08, which is DUI in many states. >:(

[Patty]

There's few things that scare me more than a blonde in an SUV talking on a cell phone while puttong on her makeup, drinking her coffee from starb***ks, tending to her kids in the backseat, while smoking a cigarette. Now that's either talent, or the scariest thing on the road.

Egads, I must have a twin in Phoenix!  ;D   

My personal favorite is the guy shaving while trying to read a magazine that is  perched on the steering wheel.

Life in the fast lane!

[sawguy21]

This seems to have gone from a discussion of safety while driving to resistance to more government regulation. I have a cell phone, no landline, but will not answer it while driving. I can retrieve the message later, I'm not that important.:D A ban is fine but the difficulty would be enforcing it although if enough people get stopped and charged the number of incidents might drop. A 17 year old girl was recently charged after mowing down a pedestrian while yakking on the phone.
On another note, a local news website ran a video of two cops on a typical street patrol. They flagged down a car on a seatbelt violation. Turns out the headlights and horn did not work, one tail light was out and the bozo had open liquor and a 'pipe'. How stupid is that?

[DanG]

The issue IS about Gov't control, Sawguy.  Our freedoms, especially the right to think for one's self, are being eroded at an incredible rate.  My first question is, why were the cops flagging him for a "seatbelt violation" in the first DanG place? >:(  This is strictly a revenue law.  They were just using that as an excuse to gather some bucks for the City thieves.  So what if his headlights didn't work?  Was it dark?  I'll bet not.  Ditto for the tail light.  One is enough, anyway!  Now, the bottle and the pipe were things he shouldn't be driving around with, but they wouldn't have found that if they hadn't been simply trying to take a poor person's last dime from him.  If he wasn't doing anything obviously dangerous, they should have left him alone!  I got a real problem with this kind of cowardly Facism. >:(

[maple flats]

I voted no ban but I think people should not use them while driving, I am just against government passing laws and getting into everything. We have too many laws already. I think one good approach would be for a law requiring them to remove 2 laws for every new one passed. There are still laws on the books that have no purpose in today's world, that have outlived the technology of the period they were passed in.
Back to the question, there are way too many laws. We started with 10 commandments that tell us how to live and government turns it into hundreds of thousands of laws. We could just go back to 10 and if those were obeyed we would need no more.

[ARKANSAWYER]

   Bann then suckers and do away with all cell phones!   They are evil and of no use to mankind!   You can not talk to someone in front of you any more for more then a few seconds that they have to stop and answer the phone.   Standing in line at the store and half the people you see are on the phone and it slows the whole progress down.    I have had a few near misses while driving because of people and DanG phones in their ears.   It was me being awake that saved us both.    Does someone really need to share the fact that they are doing something?    Are we so needy to converse with someone that we dial up someone else.     Is that much business really being done because of them?   Most of the folks I know with cell phones get less done and finish nothing. 
  They can be handy and a life saver at times but for the most part I bet they kill more people then they save.   You may not know this but I do not have one and think they are evil.

[SwampDonkey]

I voted no ban. I don't use them often and only carry one for safety or to make a call to a client while I'm sitting idle along the road or on a back road with no traffic. If it rings I can ignore it if traffic dictates. I also have an answering system at the house, so if it's important they can leave a message. If no message, then I could care less. ;)

[Frickman]

I voted ban them. I think that under the right conditions they're OK. I've talked on the phone while driving this past week. A landowner was guiding me into his property on a lonely, back road while I did about twenty mph. Talking on the phone and having lunch while doing seventy on the interstate should be a no-no, in my opinion.

[isawlogs]

  We are regulated way to much as it is ...  >:( cant do this ya cant do that ...  : , if one can do it safely and not endanger any body around , why not . I have been cut off in town by people not paying attention to what they where doing that did not have a phone in there hands , whats it gonna be next , a ban on car radios .

[GHRoberts]

I was on my bicycle today.

Lot of rain. My wife was coming out to pick me up.

Got a cell phone call from her asking for directions.

She was parked on the sholder. I was riding on the shoulder.


Sometimes calls are important.

edited to add:

I helped my daughter and son-in-law move from NH to VA a couple years ago. 2 cars and a truck.  we used a cell phone from time to time to report road conditions and to indicte where we were stopping for food or fuel.

The cell phones helped a lot.

[Mr Mom]

     I said to band them in car only and when driving.
     I have no problem with laws that keep people safe. Now some laws like alot of you have said are bull and should not be on the books.




     Thanks Alot Mr Mom
     

[dundee]

Hands free are OK--BUT when I see folk TEXTING while driving, that ain't "hands free", downright stupid
Richard

[Blake22]

What's the difference in talking to your buddy on a cell phone vs him sitting in the seat next to you? Hell where I live you have to stop on a hill in the open for the phone to work in the 1st place. As for as a ban (a new law) no way. To start with the laws we already have aren't enforced. That's just what we need, let a theif or rapist or drug dealer slip by because all effort is on a person TALKING ON A PHONE WHILE DRIVING A CAR. Hope my 'hood doesn't fill up with people with phones.

Leave me alone.

[Engineer]

My vote is for "hands-free allowed" with a caveat or two.  Some folks might say, "well you can just pull over and talk".  Well not everybody does that, and I have nearly rear-ended several idiots for abruptly slamming on the brakes and partially pulling off the road because they had to answer the cell phone.    If you can use all of the important functions of the phone without touching the phone, that's ''hands-free".  If you have to pick it up even to press a button to talk, that's not, and it shouldn't be allowed.   People don't NEED cell phones but it has made business a lot easier.  I keep my cell in my truck 24/7, I look at it as a device for my personal use and nobody else's (that means incoming calls).

Not directly cell-related (or driving related) but a few times I've had a customer in my office when the phone rings.  They look at me and most ask "Aren't ya gonna get that?".  I tell them that I pay the phone bill, not the guy on the other end, and they can leave a message.  It helps my relations with the customer immensely.   The phone is for ME - MY convenience.   

[DanG]

Hey Jon!  PM me your cellphone number, would ya?  If I ever get a call from you, I ain't gonna answer it. ;D :D :D :D

[Engineer]

You know the type, dontcha?  You go into a store/office/business and the drone behind the desk seems to think the phone ringing is MUCH more important that a live customer standing there.    There's been a few times when I have been in a store, the moron answers the phone, I make sure I catch their attention as I deliberately leave whatever I was buying behind, and exit.  The looks I get are priceless.  Occasionally they'll get a clue.

The message on my cell says that it's for emergencies only, and the best way to get ahold of me is calling my office and leaving a message.    One time I had the cell phone in the office all morning sitting on a charger.   It rang.  The caller was a guy who was trying to get me to do some work for him, was impatient and annoying to boot.  I asked him if he had called the office first (he had, several days before).  Did he call this morning and leave a message? "Oh yeah, I sure did", and proceeded to segue right into his impatient diatribe about his problems.   I cut him off, told him he was a liar to his face, and told him I didn't work for people who can't even be honest about a simple phone call.

[Max sawdust]

Don't we have enough laws that are not enforced?  Really what should be banned is irresponsible people that have no regard for other people ;)  Hmmm we can banish all the irresponsibles to Washington DC and keep them there with all the politicians, then the rest of us can go on with living a dignified life with respect for a neighbor :D
Anyway..
I use mine with a headset in the car.  I checked the hands free box.  I have been trying to be less polarized on issues : But after reading the posts my dander is getting up and I should have checked no ban, cause a phone is just a tool, and it is the person behind it that makes it dangerous, just like other tools
max

[Bro. Noble]

I ain't got a cell phone and don't need one-----------very few people on speaking terms with me :

[Frickman]

Bro. Noble,

If you got all your cows phones, you'd have plenty of reasons to use a cell phone.  ;)

[SwampDonkey]

Naw, he only needs some nice cow bells on his lead/pet cows so he knows where the heard is. ;D Uncle had 2 or 3 old bossys in the heard he'de dangle a cow bell on and could here them when grazing or walking. Most the time they were at the door to go in to be milked at the right times of day. He milked by hand and had up to 8 cows milking, everyone went modern and he still milked by hand for 13 years before he called it quits. There was never any money in it, it was a hobby and lotsa work.

[Bro. Noble]

SD,  still lotsa work and no money :(  I been thinking about that.  Here I been calling those cows stoopid.  They lay around in the shade all day and about run over me at milk time getting to the feed.  I bust my butt trying to pay the feed bill,  which is about as big as the milk check and comes more often >:(  Maybe the cows ain't the ones whats stoopid

[Frickman]

I'm driving down a local interstate/toll road this morning, about 55 mph in a 65 mph zone, with a load of logs on the truck. A young lady enters the highway from an on ramp and gets about one hundred feet in front of me. She's talking on the phone, totally oblivious to anything outside her PT Cruiser. That would be ok, if she accelerated and got a ways in front of me. She didn't, she went a few hundred yards, a quarter mile at most, and slammed on the brakes to pull off on the shoulder for something, I don't know what. I slammed on my brakes, skidded all over my lane, and came within ten or fifteen feet from hitting her. She still didn't see me or was aware of her surroundings. We almost had a major accident because she was yakking on the phone instead of driving. This is why I would like to see them banned while driving, or at least limited in some way.

Don't even ask me to wear one of those stupid looking cordless headset things over my ear. I hope I don't offend anyone, but they are some of the dumbest looking things I've ever seen. I can see where they'd be handy at work somewhere, like if you run a forklift in a warehouse and had to talk to the office. I have no problem with that. But to walk around talking to yourself, that's insane. We use to admit folks like that for psychiatric treatment, now we glorify them. I was getting fuel at the truckstop last night and some yuppy type comes in wearing one of those things like he was special or something. He wasn't even using it at the time, just wearing it. He thought it was cool, I thought it was stupid.

[Ron Wenrich]

Rarely do I comment on these threads.  But, when it comes to driving I always look back at where I came from.  Back when I was turning driving age, most of us guys have already been driving.  It may have been the old Ford tractor, or the old Jeep pickup, or the old Studebaker.  Chances are, we drove them on the road long before we were of legal age to drive.

But, nowadays, instead of getting that experience on equipment operation, it seems that kids get their experience on video games.   Driving is just one big screen.  Talking on the cell phone is just another factor of life.  I still have the rotary dial phone.   Can you say old phart?   :D

It seems that some people have no problems talking on the cell phone, while others have some serious problems.  And that is the dilemna.  Should those that can be penalized by those that can't?  Personally, I don't see why anyone has to be that "connected" to the outside world that they need a 24/7 connection.  Solitude has its own rewards.

For me, I think some people have the ability to drive and yack on the phone.  For others, they are marginally able to drive.  And that is the problem with laws.  They protect us from some, but adversely effect others. 

[PineNut]

Why should I spend good money for a cell phone so people can find me when I don't want to be found?

[SwampDonkey]

What doesn't make sence to me is when I see folks out in their back yard yapping away and paying for air time, while it would be free inside the house on the land line. Some people have a few sinapses misfiring.  :

[ARKANSAWYER]

  I'm alot like Engineer in that a person standing in front of me is more important then the one on the phone.   The person who took time and effort to come and see me wants to do business.    When doing business with a person all others can wait their turn.   Sometimes you have to call and order stuff due to distance and a message machine is a good way to leave word on what you want.   I have a message machine and it is about the only way you will get a hold of me.   Do we really need that much yaking going on?    ???

[Fla._Deadheader]

DITTO Engineer and Arkansawyer.

  Have y'all noticed how handy them cell phones are for calling 911, RIGHT AFTER you just crashed yer rig for USING the DanG cell phone ??? 

  My earliest experience was with an Attorney that we were recovering dinette chairs for. His phone was constantly going off while telling us what he wanted done to the chairs. I questioned him about that, and his response was, "I LOVE this thing". As soon as I get out of bed, I start calling people, and MY TIME starts when I dial. I make LOTS of extra money, NOW.  : : : :

[Paschale]

I voted no ban.  I use my cell phone when I drive, usually with a hands free.  I don't view as much different than if I was having a conversation with a friend who was sitting there with me in the car.  I think the problems are with people who are just bad drivers, rather than it being solely the fault of the cell phone use.   :

[Max sawdust]

What doesn't make sence to me is when I see folks out in their back yard yapping away and paying for air time, while it would be free inside the house on the land line. Some people have a few sinapses misfiring.  :

They have free land lines in Canada   Wow you guys sure have it good :D  Down in the USA land lines are very expensive, that is why many people just disconnect the land line and use the Cell phone for all calls.  This actually saves lots of money.

Land lines will go the way of the pay phone. Just look at Scandinavia and Europe, In Finland none of my friends have land lines, and the kids do not even know what a phone booth is ;)
Max

[treecyclers]

There's a new push on for a "new" phone booth - a booth that is sound insulated that you can step into to take a call on your cell phone.
It's a take on the phone booths of old, but it's more of a BYOP - bring your own phone!
I thought it was a neat concept, but don't see them being used too much.
SD

[tomboysawyer]

If I couldn't use my cell phone while driving, I couldn't take great pictures like this while I'm driving:


I'm with Engineer and Arkansawyer on not answering. It freaks some people out. My friends are used to it, but new guests or people like the guy from Amway Agway (Freudian slip?) who was quoting me on a new furnace get really uncomfortable when I let the house phone ring. Guess many Americans are Ma Bell's dogs when it comes to the phone. My phone is a tool for me, not my master. If I'm near it, I check the caller ID. Otherwise, plan on leaving a message.

The other thing I've found with cell phones is when you deal with (especially) city folk or younger folk, they expect if you have a cell phone you use it on some kind of regular basis. I've had months go by where I don't pick the thing up or charge it - which means messages left by said people on that phone instead of my work or home phone don't ever get heard by me. Like Engineer, my cell is my tool for calling out when I'm travelling or for some reason away from my other phones.

I voted no ban. Not big on victimless crimes. Unlike drunk drivers, cell phone users who get in accidents are much more likely to hurt themselves or their own property - appropriate penalty for being stupid.

[SwampDonkey]

Well the land line is $26/mo and free 'air time' for local calls. With dial around long distance it's 5 C/min. Cells here are $45 or more a month on a plan and it costs $$ every call weather you make it or receive it. Or you can use pay as you go and get a cell phone activation card for $10, 25, 50 etc worth of air time, which works out to $0.33/min as I recall. We have limited competition in my area so we have to take what we get.  : Pay phones will be here in my area for some time to come.

[Max sawdust]

Ya SD,
Same for me no compitition and service 1/2 the time.  My land line is here for some time too ;)
max

[DanG]

All of you people who are saying, "My phone is for MY convenience!" don't seem to be taking into consideration that the person you are calling has a phone for HIS convenience, too.  So you don't want to get calls?  Turn the DanG thing off!  Don't give anybody your number.  Have your phone restricted to outgoing calls only.   
                                                       
  When you call somebody else, do you not realize that you are disturbing their serenity, too?  They probably don't really mind, because they probably understand that life is happening and are courteous enough to inquire as to what the caller might need.  But if they are of like mind, and don't want to take calls, how do you ever communicate with them? ???  Why would you want to? ???  I truly don't understand that mentality. :

[Tom]

I don't even take my phone out of the house.  It's on a short string.

[Jeff]

Harold you mention 911 in a post. On United Airlines Flight 93, the last of the hijacked planes, cell phones did more than enable people to hear a friendly voice in their last moments. After learning about the attack on New York, via cell phone, passengers realized that the hijackers of their own plane were probably bent on suicide as well and decided to fight back. The FBI believed that the ensuing struggle crashed the plane short of its target, possibly the white house or the Capital building.  The cell phones were not the heros but the passengers, but they made a difference.

New technology has been dissed and dismissed since even before and along with indoor toilets. We have proof of that somewhere here on the forum because Pigman and Noble still gripe abut the indoor sitters. And I did say sitters.

[Paul_H]

I was wondering the same thing DanG but was afraid to ask  

I have a friend that lives a few doors down and we help each other out but they don't answer the phone,,,,ever  ??? It rings and they can hear it,they will look at each other as their eyes dart back and forth from the phone to me but they will not pick the stupid thing up.

They have offered to be our emergency contact if our kids ever have to call from school and we're not around but what is the point? We couldn't depend on them in an emergency because the would be ignoring the phone.

They have no problem phoning here because we answer the phone the same way as we would our front door if somebody rang.

We were taught phone manners were as important as saying please and thank you and holding the door for older folks and removing our hats indoors(except ladies of course) so that's why I answer my phone if I'm home.

I'm nobody's Dog

[SwampDonkey]

Paul, maybe the bank has been harrassing them. ;D :D They see you coming home in those fancy logging duds and they think 'that guy could be our local banker'. :D

I answer all my calls also when home and not half comatose asleep in bed. I don't sound too good on the phone when I'm half asleep. ;D

[Patty]

Life on the road before cell phones was neither productive nor safe. For those who have had to stand in line waiting for a phone booth, or at a rest area waiting for the 3 guys in front of you, or stood out in the rain calling in for messages, or drove all over a strange town looking for a pay phone only to find the one pay phone in town was broke know exactly what I am talking about. How about being the only woman at a rest area at midnight calling for directions. These were not good times. The invention of the cell has increased safety and productivity for millions of folks who used to be slaves to the toll phone.    How about breaking down in the middle of the night....alone. Do you get out and start walking to find a phone somewhere ? Do you want your wife or daughter put into this situation?  Cell phones have been one of the best inventions in years. If you don't want to own one, fine, but don't ruin it for the rest of us by passing restricitve laws. We have too many nanny laws already.

[DanG]

Amen to that, Patty.  My wife's commute to work consists of 30+ miles on the interstate at 10:30 pm.  I hate to think of all the times she made that trip without a phone. :-[

Another thought about phones and driving:  It is a whole lot safer to just answer the phone while you're sailing down the road than to suddenly pull off onto the shoulder to answer it.  I can envision a huge increase in accidents if that were to become the standard practice.

[Max sawdust]

Well said Patty.
Did not even consider the huge increase in safety.  Yes I did travel for work before cell phones and agree with you.
max

[SwampDonkey]

I agree with Patty as well, we have this new technology and it's great to have and be able the use when needed. But, I've travelled in many places, not far off the main arteries actually, that a cell phone was of no use. Also, I've never had a 'fear of the public' that I couldn't stop at a stranger's house or filling station to call, or thumb a ride, or walk some distance if neccessary.

[pigman]

New technology has been dissed and dismissed since even before and along with indoor toilets. We have proof of that somewhere here on the forum because Pigman and Noble still gripe abut the indoor sitters. And I did say sitters.
{/quote]


I am not against new technology. I think every outhouse needs a phone on the wall. A person might run out of corncobs and need to call for a new supply. I am also very proud to be mentioned in the same sentence with out distinguished member Bro. Noble 8)
Bob

[bitternut]

Cell phones are a very valuble asset for many reasons. The problem as always is the ignorant person using it that has no common sense. Its illegal to talk on a hand held phone while driving in my state ( NY ) but people do it all the time. It appears to only be enforced when flagrant or the cop is in a bad mood I guess as I see people holding phones and yakking all the time. I even see people on the phone and using a laptop while driving.

Patty if you take that chainsaw with you won't have to be afraid to stop anywhere at any time.  :D  :D  :D

[tomboysawyer]

Its not that the bank is calling me 'cause I owe 'em that I don't answer the phone - it is that our credit is too good. Our home phone receives, approximately, 40 telemarketer calls a day. And, yes, I am on the Do Not Call List - lotta good that does.

Like I have machines to do a lot of things in my life, I have a machine to answer the phone. If I'm near the phone, I can read the caller ID (within 15 feet). If'n I recognize the caller, I answer the phone and greet them politely and personally - not even with a generic hello. If I'm home alone and not grossly involved with something up to my elbows, I'll usually wander over and see who it is. Frankly, I feel continuing a conversation that I am personally engaged in - with my hubby or a visitor - is more important than taking on a new conversation. If folks start to talk to the machine and we are there - we pick up the phone.

And I do answer the phone when someone talks to the answering machine even if I am extremely sleepy. 'Course, when folks call at 2am and ask if they woke me I assure them I had to get up to answer the phone anyway - not to worry.

I don't have a phone in my bedroom. I think that's as polite and important in  my life as anything else. But I can hear the machine.

I do tend to answer my cell phone whenever it is safe and polite to do so. I don't have it with me when it would not be polite and, like the home phone, it will then let the "machine" answer.

Telemarketers don't call cells, yet. And, generally, they don't call business numbers. I always answer my business phone when I'm in the office as fast as possible.

I realize not everyone gets the same kind of phone harassment I do. My hubby and I just decided it was better for our health and stress to not instantly respond to the ringer. Yes, whoever is calling has paid for their phone too (usually - I do have toll-free here). And I leave polite messages when I call them.

I used to get a lot of compliments on my old answering machine message:

"Hi, you've reached Mark and Amy. Friends and family you know the routine, leave a message. Everyone else: no, we don't need a new loan, no we don't need more credit cards, no we don't need a satellite dish and no, we don't need vacuum cleaner bags but thank you anyway. Beep."

Sorry, just like any invasive technology, we decided the person here, in the flesh, is more important than the one on the machine (the phone or online).  When it is an emergency, we can hear that, and we react quickly.

[DanG]

I understand where you're coming from, TBS.  I'm pretty much the same way.  We don't have caller ID on the house phone, so my "Hello" is rather brusk, in a deep tone.  That tends to put the telemarketers on the defensive, if there happens to really be a person on there. ;D  Once their little game has been confirmed, a real firm "Have a nice day", followed by an even firmer click, terminates the conversation. ;D :D

I guess what bothers me here, is the people that criticise others for having a cellphone when they don't.   :

[SwampDonkey]

One of the telemarketers called the other day and said 'We are conducting a survey......'

I responded with 'No, we aren't..........click' Because the last couple of questions are always about your income.

The click was actually my pulling the phone line from the jack. ;D

After doing this about 20 times I finally got CapitalOne trained as to not call here to push their cards. I'm even getting application notices from the University, seems they are pushing credit cards off on Alumini. They do this to students also, and a credit card is the last thing a student needs.  :

[Patty]

We had a young lady in Iowa not too long ago get herself into a world of hurt. She drove an hour north of her home for an interview. She never showed up for the interview, and when she didn't come home that evening her folks were very worried, and a search was put into motion. No one could find her, and she didn't call home to tell them where she had gone. Several days went by, and a road crew found her car. She was still in the car, and she was alive and had been conscious, just waiting and hoping that someone would find her.  After several weeks in the hospital, she recovered, but both of her legs had to be amputated. As it turned out she did have a cell phone with her....she had forgotten to charge the battery. If she had only been able to use her phone to call for help.

[PineNut]

Had a telemarketer call the other night, same phone number that has been calling for several weeks. I think it was from Bellsouth. Figured it was about time to answer it. Seeing as I had no desire to talk with them, I just let the TV talk to them. Guess they didn't care about that because they were gone when I picked up. The TV is good for something.

[Gary_C]

Late this afternoon, I met a car and the driver had his left foot out the window and resting on the rear view mirror.   

What an idiot! Guess we need to ban that too?   

[Faron]

I vote no ban, - but people need to use some common sense.

My wife kind of talked me in to carrying a cell phone.  I didn't think I wanted or needed one.  I needed it.  Many customers can now reach me when they need to talk to me, and that makes life easier for both of us.  I may be in the woodshop, the sawmill, farm, or woods.  If I depend on the answering machine at home, it may mean a trip back, whereas with the cell phone, lots of times I can take care of the customer's needs before I come home.  Friday my wife got in her car, dog tired after a long day, and the DanG thing wouldn't start.  50 miles from home and really no one available to call down there, at least not without emptying her pockets and mortgaging her firstborn.  She got hold of me, cell phone to cell phone.  I was able to get there and fix the problem, but I wouldn't have been home to answer the phone for another 2 hours at least.  It works the other way, too.  I often call someone to pick me up when I am moving equipment from farm to farm. 

I answer the phone whenever it is safe to do so.  I don't see any reason to keep a customer waiting.  He just might have both hands full of cash for me. ;)

Gary_C ,   Ya shoulda honked, man.  That was probably me going to fix the car! ;) :D

[sandman2234]

I will probably catch some heat for this one...
     I have driven all over this country, in familiar towns, and others that I hope to never have to return to. Since the early 90's, I have had a cell phone, and have managed to talk on it without getting in too much trouble. Or in other words, have managed to avoid hitting or running into anyone or anything.
   I did manage to ruin my almost perfect record in a small town in Florida, by catching a telephone pole coming out of a parking lot. A lady came out of the parking lot across the street from me, and I was in her lane. I spun the wheel to avoid her, and actually drove across the base of the pole with one tire. Never touched it with the vehicle, and managed to miss her, but ruined my perfect record.
    I have a friend who cannot answer a phone while driving. He knows it, and will pull off and call you back if you have hung up. I have spent hours on the phone while driving in bumper to bumper traffic, at 70+ mph down the interstates, backing up to a dock, or negotiating curves and street corners, while talking to him and others, and it amazes him.
     In case you don't know, I drive a tractor trailer for a living, and keep in touch with friends and family via a cell phone. I don't use a hands free device, mainly because I don't think holding a phone up to your ear stops you from using your eyes to watch what you are doing. It doesn't keep you from turning your head to see what is happening around you. When I need to shift a gear, I can reach thru the wheel with my other hand  and change the gears. (Truckers used to have to do this all the time with a duplex or triplex transmission,ie multiple sticks,  so don't jump on that bandwagon)
   The part that gives me the most problem, is actually dialing a phone number. The act of looking at the keypad to push the correct numbers gives me a problem. I reallly wish they would stop making keypads where each button is against the next. I used to could dial a phone without looking at it, but with new flater keys, it makes it hard to feel each key from the next.
   The technology to be completely hands free has been around for quite a while, including dialing. Mash one button, to activate it , and you don't have to look or touch the phone again. Now that was great.

   A man has to know his limitations...
     David from jax
   

[SwampDonkey]

I will probably catch some heat for this one...
   

Not from me.   :

[Modat22]

I figure that a person should not do anything while driving that he or she wouldn't do while shooting a firearm.

[sandman2234]

Kind of hard to hear a cell phone with earmuffs on. With the new technology in smaller and smaller phones, maybe they will have one that will fit inside my earmuffs pretty soon!
   David from jax