Cell Phone Etiquette (Or Lack Of) (3 Viewers)

[Jenn]

Now a real funny... one manager that thought he was all that would frequently be seen walking around with his phone up to his head... he avoided many people by doing this (didn't want his employees asking him questions he didn't know the answers to anyway) ....One day he is two steps from the hall with his phone to his head, talking... and it RINGS.

I do that! Lol, sometimes I'm overwhelmed with stuff I'm supposed to be doing, billing customers, working on estimates, and supposed to be calling somebody and I forget to hit SEND.

Since I'm concentrating on the other stuff, I zone out that I'm even holding the phone to my ear.

Not so bad as when I was stopping at Pizza Hut to pick up a couple pizzas for a school presentation and I'm talking on the phone while I'm getting out of the car and spend the better part of five minutes LOOKING for my phone, when it's in my hand, on my ear and I'm actually telling the person on the phone, "Dude, where is my phone?!"

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Hands free just passed in NJ too. They can pull you over for it - no secondary offense.

I guess I just wonder, what is the difference if you are holding the phone to your ear or have the bluetooth in your ear - you are still distracted by the conversation...

I loved the man I passed yesterday on the road - he was weaving a bit...when I got to where I could pass I looked over - he was trying to drive while holding the cellphone, smoking a cigarette with the map on the steering wheel. I passed him as fast as I could.

Yeah, I saw the electronic signs all over the state last week announcing that enforcement was starting on March 1. I wonder if they'll be like CT? I see as many cops in that state with phones to their ears while driving as anyone else.

I constantly see people reading maps, newspapers, magazines, watching TV, typing on laptops, doing paperwork/writing, etc. A LOT more dangerous than just holding a cell phone to an ear.

What part of PA are you in again? I'm always going in and out of Jersey on 78, 80, 95, 287, and 295.

 

[G'ginna]

I guess I just wonder, what is the difference if you are holding the phone to your ear or have the bluetooth in your ear - you are still distracted by the conversation...

Fact of the matter is that as in all things it depends on who is doing the driving. We all know there are people who can't drive a straight line with a passenger in the car, much less a cell phone. I have seen many people NOT look to the right or left depending on which side they were holding the cell phone on, these are probably the same people who weave & can't maintain speed. Those are probably people who shouldn't have a cell phone on in any form while driving. For me, Bluetooth is similar to having a person in the car, and I have no problem letting someone know that I can't talk right now.

& I can live without it. Cell phone is usually off at home. The only time I have had it out in my barn was when I was talking to a vet while working with a sick animal.

 

[mike cummings]

Somewhere along the way that changed though and you'd come across people who would walk around freely chatting away, indulging the rest of us with half of a conversation that we didn't want to hear in the first place.

What changed is the cost of cell phones and the usage fee. Early cell phones cost an arm and a leg and the per minute charge was prohibitive to all but business professionals who really did need to make the call. Fast forward to current times and cell phones are often given away with subscription to service and call plans have made cell phones affordable to the unwashed, uneducated and unsophisticated masses. Progress? I guess.

What amuses me is watching a live television broadcast and looking for the ever present "idiot on the cell phone" You all have seen this guy when your local newscast features a live shot in front of a crowd. This is the guy in plain view of the camera, waving with one hand while holding the cell phone in the other hand telling whoever is on the other end "look at me Goober, I'm famous! I'm on the Tee Vee!"... Sadly you can see this guy every Sunday morning on NHRA Today, somewhere in the crowd behind the set where Dave Rieff and Mike Dunn sit.

 

[Bullard Anderson]

My phone is either in the house or on the visor of my truck. I never take it with me in a store or eatery. I have hardly any cell signal on the farm so I usually leave it in the house. Some of my best days are coming back into the house around 5pm and seeing 5-8 missed calls. It's a since of freedom. In my opionion, if your date is jabbing on the cell phone, you can pretty much gauge where YOU stand.

 

[Jenn]

What changed is the cost of cell phones and the usage fee. Early cell phones cost an arm and a leg and the per minute charge was prohibitive to all but business professionals who really did need to make the call. Fast forward to current times and cell phones are often given away with subscription to service and call plans have made cell phones affordable to the unwashed, uneducated and unsophisticated masses. Progress? I guess.

My parents had a cell phone when they came in the size of a planner and I think the calling plan was for 50 minutes base package. Now they have cell phones and they still hardly ever use them. I finally got sort of fed up with them paying 80 bucks a month when they used 100 minutes combined and added them to my calling plan.

My dad's favorite phrase is "I have my phone, it's off, so call me if you need me to turn it on"

Another thing that gets me is the just because I can be reachable for all things, doesn't mean you should call me 2-3 times in a row because I didn't answer it the first time. I usually have my phone on, I use it for school and business and I have people who have genuine need to get a hold of me, but if I don't answer it there is usually a good reason so, don't call back two seconds later unless you are dying or dead.

 

[none]

I gotta remember that one,that's great

 

[Nitrohaulic]

I gotta remember that one,that's great

LOL, that's as good as someone saying "Call me when I get home!"

 

[Toejam]

I am thankful that he can keep both hands on the wheel or handlebars when he is traveling as we call and check on him frequently. He hasn't used it for any other reason. They are a good tool if you use them for the way they are intended.

I'm waiting for the first time I see a guy or gal on a motorcycle talking on their cellphone while riding.

 

[.]

I'm waiting for the first time I see a guy or gal on a motorcycle talking on their cellphone while riding.

I saw that about 12 years ago. It's been a long time because I remember he had one of those new-at-the-time Motorola flip phones. Several of us on sportbikes were cruising 1st Ave in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when my buddy Paul's cellphone rang. He just slowed down to about 15 mph and then answered his phone.

 

[none]

LOL, that's as good as someone saying "Call me when I get home!"

I like it when someone calls me at home (on my land line)& asks "are you home?"