Re: frugal "emergency" cell phone

Caveat <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> On 30 Nov 2003 22:48:46 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Larisa) wrote:
> 
> >> There is a huge difference between "want" and "need". I seriously
> >> question your need for a cell phone. You want one, and that's
> >> OK too, as long as you recognize that you want it, but don't
> >> really need it.
>  
> >> Cars have been in general use for what, eighty years
> >> now. Cell phones have been popular with the general
> >> public for what, ten or twelve years now.
>  
> >> What did people do for the seventy or so years in between.
> >> They obviously didn't *need* cell phones. Driving cars has
> >> been going on for many decated without the need for a
> >> cell phone.
>  
> >Yup, but pay phones were a lot more widespread.  And if one is driving
> >a not-very-reliable car for long distances, especially if the weather
> >is bad, it qualifies as a legitimate need to be able to call for help
> >if your car is stalled on a deserted highway and the weather is -30F. 
> >What did people do before cell phones, in such situations?  They froze
> >to death, that's what.
> 
> 
> Come now, Larisa. If someone is so far out in the boonies that there
> aren't any cars, houses, or pay phones nearby, then their cell phone
> likely won't work either. Only about 67% of the US has cellular
> coverage. I don't recall anyone freezing to death, over the years, in
> a situation where a cell phone would have saved them. Instead, many
> people have died and been injured in the last 10 years due to drivers
> being distracted by their double tasking while at the wheel, and
> causing accidents. 
> 
> 
> Caveat

I've been able to get cell phone coverage in very remote areas. The
cellular tower might be 15 or 20 miles away. There are nummerous
examples of peoples lifes being saved by either calling for help or
quickly reporting a wreck and getting help. It's much easier to report
a road hazard or drunken driver. "Boosted"cll phones can also work
quite some distance off shore and in lakes to summon help for boaters.

Have to agree, cell phone use while driving can be very dangerous. I
often wish talking while driving was outlawed, like they are in many
other countries, especially after some idiots have nearly killed me,
blowing through red lights.
Some people are very poor at multi-tasking and it's obvious that
attention is reduced for anyone talking while driving. Some drivers
seem to have more attention to spare.
Just because people make poor judgements, when using cell phones or
any other device, does not make a valid arguement for their usefulness
or even life saving capabilities.
Calls can usually be made safely, when pulled over and stopped. 

Before cell phones, automobiles killed and maimed thousands, but
society and most anyone with a car, has agreed to accept the risk,
because of the positive benefits of automobiles.

Come on...a cell phone is a little box that lets the user talk from
(67% ?) of the US, for about $50 a year, to anyone else on the planet,
who has a phone. That's pretty good odds and a very low cost for a
personal, communications safety device.

For the other 33%, a satellite phone or an emergency beacon may
useful. Though not as frugal as a cheap cell phone plan, under
emergency circumstances, it may become the bargain of a lifetime.

Don't know if having a cell phone would have prevented the rape and
murder of a friend, when her car broke down... but a women stranded on
a roadside, depending on help from passing motorists, faces potential
threats which most men will never encounter.

-
David