March 30, 2008- Cell phones and other mobile devices were once there once the wave of the future, but now we are in that future and cell phone usage is wide spread. Everyone has a cell phone. Even people who can not afford a bill or who do not have enough credit to begin a plan are being offered new options for cell phone usage such as pay as you go and pre paid plans. So with so many people engaging in this readily available technology, it is likely that every driver you meet on the road owns a mobile device of some sort and that most of them are probably in the habit of using them on the road.

Although cell phones are very important tools for business as well as pleasure, it is important to use common sense when we are using any device that might distract us from the road. Did you know that there are several states that have actually banned cell phone usage while driving? Now, police officers can actually pull drivers over and ticket them for using their mobile device, even if there is no other driving offence. The 5 states that banned handheld use while driving were California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington. As I looked at the grid of states that enforce such laws and who the laws applied to and did not apply to, I was alarmed to see that not all stated ban school bus drivers from using cell phones.

Several companies offer guidelines to their employees who regularly use mobile devices for business to keep them safe. Some such suggestions that may be useful to anyone who needs to use their device while traveling include pulling over to dial, never use a mobile device in heavy traffic or bad weather, set up and use speed dialing as much as possible to cut down distraction time, and be sure to use hands free devices.

Source: Ghsa.org; Safety.blr.com