32. Get Rid of Your Car Phone

You already know that I’m not fond of the sound of a ringing telephone, so please forgive me a certain level of prejudice on this issue.

I know many people who caved in when the price of car phones dropped below five hundred dollars. Some people, like the half-dozen real estate agents I know who have car phones and say they couldn’t do business without them, presumably have a legitimate need to have constant access to a telephone. But most of the people I know, including even some of the real estate people, say car phones are another one of those “conveniences” that are more trouble than they’re worth.

First, there’s the safety factor, which has never been adequately addressed by the manufacturers, the regulatory agencies, or the media. More than one person I know has given up their car phone because of near-miss accidents that occurred when engaged in a heavy-duty conversation while barreling down the highway at sixty-five miles per hour. Worse yet are the clowns who are busy punching in a seven-digit phone number while maneuvering through rush-hour traffic with a five-speed stickshift car.

At the very least, use caution and common sense where you use a car phone. If you have to make a call en route, pull off to the side of the road to place your call. Or, if possible, have a fellow passenger make the call for you.

Second, there’s the frustration of the as-yet-unperfected technology that causes conversations to fade in and out, or to be cut off altogether if you pass outside your calling area. This is convenience?

Third, safety aside, there is the sheer lunacy of committing ourselves to yet again doing at least two things at the same time. Have we really gotten that busy?

Fourth, there’s the expense. If, as my father used to say, you’ve got more money than brains, there’s probably no real harm done spending it frivolously on calls that could in most cases more easily and at far less expense be made from a stationary phone. But if you’re working within a tight budget, you might want to seriously reconsider what having a car phone really saves you.