The Advice Sisters

"What Works" - CELL PHONE SAFETY

Unless you're from Mars (or maybe Venus!) you probably own a cellular phone or are thinking of getting one. Who could have imagined just a few years ago that upon hearing a tinny rendition of "Fur Elise" an entire roomful of men and women would go lunging into their coat pockets, handbags and briefcases to grab their cell phones all at once!

Like it or not, mobile phones have become a part of our culture. And for many people, the morning and evening commute have become the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends, order services they couldn't from their offices, call spouses and children or continue the work day in the car on the way home.

It might be efficient...but it can be dangerous! Talking on the phone while you are trying to navigate through traffic can be distracting at a time when you should be keeping your eyes and mind on driving. Having a "hands free" hookup in your car, where you can speak while still keeping both hands on the wheel and focusing on the road ahead is one way to mitigate the dangers of "cell phone commuting" but the installments necessary to "hard wire" a hook up phone in your car can be prohibitive...so many people skip that option.

Until a law is past requiring "hands free" operation of cell phones in automobiles (and that might happen sooner than you think if some members of Congress have anything to say about it), a good alternative to the dangerous practice of holding your phone will driving or the expensive option of hard wiring a hands free system is the plug in attachment.

A small unit with a cigarette lighter plug in on one end and a cradle for the phone on the other is a "What Works" alternative you should consider.

These units can be purchased for virtually any phone on the market (just check to be sure you are ordering the correct attachment for your model phone--and yes, they can vary from system to system so be sure you specify your carrier as well...BELL ATLANTIC, SPRINT etc. for your particular phone). The cost is somewhere between thirty and fifty dollars...a far cry from the two hundred and fifty or so you'd pay to have the hands free kit installed. You can remove the unit any time you like and plug your lighter back in.....and of course, when you change automobiles or buy a new one, you can take the unit with you!

The only disadvantage to the plug in unit over the hard wire is that you do not have an overhead microphone...you are speaking into the phone's microphone itself....so the sound quality is not as good. You must also get the used to speaking towards the microphone while you drive which may be below you.....so if you have a very soft, quiet voice, this might not be the best option for you as your voice may get "lost" in the traffic noise, etc. Sound quality is generally good, however, for most people who can speak up and have reasonably good hearing.

Many telephone suppliers on the Internet will sell "off brand" plug ins. These are even less expensive than those made by the companies themselves (star tak, nokia etc.) and from what I can see, they work just as well as long as you select the correct plug in for your phone. We aren't endorsing a particular brand, but you can find them on the Internet through your favorite search engine.

Drive safe!