Re: frugal "emergency" cell phone

Caveat <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message 

> >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. 

It's not a question of being far out in the boonies; it's a question
of sliding off the road, late at night when there's no one around.  I
lived in Minnesota for 8 years; even in a relatively populated area,
with cell phone coverage, it is possible to encounter a completely (or
nearly) empty highway.  And when the weather is -50F and the car is
stalled, you might not get very far if you decide to walk for help. 
Of course, they tell you to keep warm blankets and such things in the
car, for such an eventuality, but I'm not sure sleeping in a car in
-50F weather has a good effect on your health.

And for that matter, even if the area is populated, how do you know
people will stop to help?  I've been stalled on a busy highway in the
Bay Area and no one stopped to help me.  Fortunately, I had a cell
phone so I didn't have to walk along the side of the road looking for
a callbox.

As for no cell phone coverage in the area where you live; if you don't
have coverage, you don't get a cell phone; simple as that.  We're
talking about an area that has cell phone coverage, by definition.

LM