As dangerous as it can be to use a phone in a moving vehicle, I am certainly
opposed to banning them.  This is too draconian, and is tantamount to
throwing out the baby with the bath water.  In most jurisdictions there are
already laws on the books to prohibit inattention to driving, which can be
used when a driver is using a phone inappropriately.

I received my cell phone as a gift, precisely because I am often caught in
traffic jams and am running late.  I don't call people just to chat while
driving, and I normally don't have it turned on to receive calls while I'm in
the car (only one person has the number anyway, and would call only in an
emergency).  I use it in the car perhaps no more than once a week or so.  If
I'm caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic and want to notify my office that I'm
running late, I'll place the call while I'm temporarily stopped--and using
the memory feature, it takes only two buttons to do so.  Such a call takes
less than a minute.  And a couple of times when I've had car trouble and had
to pull off the road, I was certainly grateful that I had the phone to call
for help.

I think I'm using the phone in the car judiciously and responsibly.  I'm
quite aware of the risks inherent in trying to manipulate a phone while the
car is moving, and I'm normally a both-hands-on-the-wheel kind of guy.  I
think existing laws against driving while distracted are adequate to take
care of inappropriate phone use, just as they should be adequate to handle
people who shave, apply makeup, read newspapers, or clip their toenails while
driving, without penalizing others who really need to have a phone in their
car.  On one occasion, I had to make calls from the car in order to pick up
conference attendees from their hotels to transport them to a museum-related
activity.  I placed a couple of calls while stopped at red lights, then as
soon as I had a passenger, turned the phone over to him to continue the calls
while I drove.  Having the phone handy really helped with the logistics.

I'm often amused by how ubiquitous cell phones have become, but in my
personal experience they have seldom represented an annoyance any more
serious than inappropriate in-person conversation.  Talking in a theater or
meeting in person or by phone is disruptive and rude, and should be dealt
with appropriately--and allowing incoming calls in such situations is
especially rude and a flagrant violation of manners and taste.  In most
museum situations, where people can and do converse normally, phones
shouldn't annoy anyone, unless the user is part of a tour group which is
already straining to hear a docent or guide above the other ambient noise.
If I were giving a gallery talk and became aware that someone in my audience
was using a phone, I would politely ask him or her to fall out of the group
and rejoin us when the call was finished.

David Haberstich

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