Get off the F*@#ing phone!!!!

[ame]

I am not really opposed to the jamming thing, I just wish people could take responsibility for themselves, so that we didn't NEED them. We DO need our liberties infringed on it seems, because it sure looks to me like we have a bunch of irresponsible jackasses in this country who can't make good decisions to save lives!

 

[TravelingGal]

I think jamming cellphones in cars is a great idea!
They will PREVENT 1,000,000,000 emergencies for every time someone can't call 911 without simply pulling over and turning off their engine.

This Fear Fear Fear defective thinking reminds me of the arguments against mandating seat belts. "Oh, but what if there's a fire and you are trapped?"

For every life that's lost that way a zillion will be saved by seat belts.
Same with ending ALL phone use in cars.

Sometimes laws for the greater good take away personal liberties, like your right to run red lights or drive on either side of the road.

I'd totally support phone-jamming devices in all vehicles, even if it jams passenger phones.
It is a small price to pay to end this new epidemic of 'drunk' drivers.

I'm generally a "less government" sort, but this is something I would consider (would have to think about the implications more). I've been a victim of distracted drivers one too many times (and interestingly, only in the recent era of smartphones), so I'm biased. But I hate to hear when people call me because they "finally have some spare time"....in the CAR.

 

[kenny]

The problem is not limited to our roads.

Yesterday at Trader Joes's two shoppers were lost in deep conversations on their cell phones as their carts (side by side) blocked the aisle.
I had to say EXCUSE ME! two times to get one of the fracking Einsteins to wake up.
I had to stop myself from yelling, "HANG UP AND DRIVE!"

I'll bet they were talking to each other on their phones.

 

[ame]

Oh it's a serious problem EVERYWHERE. It's also a great way to be a target for crime, because you're not paying attention to yourself, you're lost in a conversation, BAM! purse snatched or whatever. But it's scariest to me in the car. I freak when I see people ON THE HIGHWAY at 70mph texting. There is no way they'll stop that thing in time.

I am not opposed to less government, I do think it's crap that they have to regulate so much because people can't just do the right thing, pay attention while driving, or whatever. It's sad that we need so much government with our ridiculous entitlements here!

 

[jewelerman]

I agree 100% that phone use is affecting our lives without people even noticing it happening. I have posted on the forum about how i feel about the texting while driving especially after i was rear ended by a young man who ran a red light while texting causing a 3 car pile up. And how i truly hate helping customers who would try to talk on their cell phones and talk to me at the same time.I have posted about my disbelief that customers would walk around a store talking about and sharing very private information in front of complete strangers and children.I for one don't want to hear about last nights romantic encounter using four letter words and breaking up with your boyfriend over the phone using those same four letter words is not for public consumption!I have relieved complete support from the forum members when i post to rant on texting in cars and phone etiquette in public and so you get complete suppose from me with your post today!

 

[JewelFreak]

I'll bet they were talking to each other on their phones.

Jewelerman, I share your feelings about customers on the phone, in spades! People used to come into Tiffany's, start trying on jewelry, & then take a phone call. Put up a finger to indicate I should stand there while they arrange kiddy carpools or weekend hotels or go over last night's party. At first I did, fuming, because if a customer complains about you for any reason, mgmt. NEVER supported employees. After a woman kept me waiting 10 minutes while other people looked in vain for help, I decided, "Let 'em fire me." I gave them enough time to wrap up a conversation -- a minute, say -- & then put stuff back in the case & told them I'd be available when they were done. Never had anyone mind, to my surprise.

People get so wrapped up in their phones, they don't think about how thoughtless they're being.

--- Laurie

 

[jewelerman]

I'll bet they were talking to each other on their phones.

Jewelerman, I share your feelings about customers on the phone, in spades! People used to come into Tiffany's, start trying on jewelry, & then take a phone call. Put up a finger to indicate I should stand there while they arrange kiddy carpools or weekend hotels or go over last night's party. At first I did, fuming, because if a customer complains about you for any reason, mgmt. NEVER supported employees. After a woman kept me waiting 10 minutes while other people looked in vain for help, I decided, "Let 'em fire me." I gave them enough time to wrap up a conversation -- a minute, say -- & then put stuff back in the case & told them I'd be available when they were done. Never had anyone mind, to my surprise.

People get so wrapped up in their phones, they don't think about how thoughtless they're being.

--- Laurie

JewelFreak,
That is exactly how i dealt with these people also. i would tell them that i will let them have privacy to talk and will get back to them and go on to the next customer.
What surprises me is the people that take calls while im ringing them out and when they put up that nasty finger to put me on hold and start talking there would be people behind them that would tell them to get off the phone and they would!One Christmas a women tried this and we were so busy that i stopped the transaction,put her items aside and told her i would ring her though when she was done talking and started with the next customer...she left the store without purchasing, but the next 2 people in line thanked me for doing what i did!I guess im getting 2 old for retail!

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Well, I hardly ever use my cell phone so cutting down isn't an issue for me. I don't even know how to take picture with it atho maybe I should in case I get into a fender bender or something. But your post made me think of this:

New Year Eve we went with a group of friends to our country club for dinner and some dancing. I had to make a couple of trips to the ladies room because I was laughing so hard my make up came off and needed repair. As I walked thru the room I noticed that just about everyone under 60 was on their phone, texing....WFT? You're at an expensive party, all dressed up, eating, drinking and dancing and you have to TEXT????? I just don't get it. Not just one table or one age group. Everywhere I looked, people we're texting. I honestly thought something momentous had happened a la getting Bin Laden.....and then I noticed a couple of people at our table checking their phones. There was only one couple I thought who had a legit reason--ill daughter with baby son. But seriously? You can't put the damn thing down for 3 hours?

I DON'T WANNA BE AVAILABLE 24/7 to anyone.

sorry for te rant/hijack.

 

[Porridge]

Guilty. I know I'm addicted and I'm trying so hard to stop but it's tough! First though: I NEVER text and drive, or even glance at my phone and drive, and it INFURIATES me whenever anyone does it. It's just so damn dangerous, not to mention illegal (for good reason).

But yeah. I check it every 5 mins. I can't put the damn thing down. I need help.

 

[JewelFreak]

I check it every 5 mins.

Why, Porridge? I am truly curious -- what are you expecting to find? I honestly don't get what people text or talk about all day long.

Jewelerman -- my gawd, the "wait till I'm done" finger-in-the-air while you're ringing up her stuff?? Yike. I'll bet you gained more future sales than you lost by blowing the woman off (politely, I'm sure, hard as it was). Amazing how some people live in the world all alone, isn't it? Nobody else exists.

 

[Haven]

YES! Get off the F*@#ing phone!!!!
I could not agree more.

DH and I like to count how long it takes for people who are left alone to whip out their phones. This is most fun in nice restaurants where using a phone at the table just seems too rude to consider. Yet, as soon as one of a couple leaves the table, guess what comes out? The phone. It's like people can't JUST BE with themselves anymore.

We were in Vegas this weekend and we noticed that all of the people who were alone in the club were also on their cell phones. How can you hope to meet someone if you're too busy staring at your little screen? And why is it that everyone would always rather be talking to someone that isn't there than the people they're actually with in person?

I have the opposite problem. My nearest and dearest are always very frustrated with me because I never pick up my phone. I just never have it out unless I'm expecting a phone call. Otherwise, it's at the bottom of my purse or forgotten at home, and I check my missed calls when I damn well feel like it. Which isn't often.

 

[movie zombie]

i use my cell phone to play solitaire if dining alone, waiting for a movie to start, waiting for the dr [even in the exam room!]. sigh. i do not take calls during a meal, during movies, or while at the dr's.......

if i were single i wouldn't have that cell phone out playing games because as Haven pointed out, how are you going to meet "eligibles" if your face is on the screen and not interacting with people around you?

i would love to see a mandatory cell transmission blocking system in each and every car. better yet: a smart phone that "knows" you're in a car and won't let you call or tweet in a car.

 

[kenny]

NTSB recommends full ban on use of cell phones while driving


A federal safety board called Tuesday for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.

The recommendation is the most far-reaching yet by the National Transportation Safety Board, which in the past 10 years has increasingly sought to limit the use of portable electronic devices -- recommending bans for novice drivers, school bus drivers and commercial truckers. Tuesday's recommendation, if adopted by states, would outlaw non-emergency phone calls and texting by operators of every vehicle on the road.

It would apply to hands-free as well as hand-held devices, but devices installed in the vehicle by the manufacturer would be allowed, the NTSB said.

The recommendation would not affect passengers' rights to use such devices.

Study: Distracted drivers in denial

NTSB members say the action is necessary to combat a growing threat posed by distracted drivers. While distracted driving has been a problem "since the Model T," in the words of NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman, authorities say it has become ubiquitous with the explosion in the number of portable smart phones. At any given daylight moment, some 13.5 million drivers are on hand-held phones, according to a study released last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Some 3,092 roadway fatalities last year involved distracted drivers, although the actual number may be far higher, NHTSA said.

"This (distracted driving) is becoming the new DUI. It's becoming epidemic," said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt.

Accident investigators routinely seek protective orders to preserve smart phones for use as evidence in accident investigations, Hersman said.

But because distracted drivers sometimes do not own up to their actions, or because they die during the crash, determining whether distraction was a factor in an accident can be difficult.

That was the case in a 2010 chain-reaction accident near Gray Summit, Missouri. During the 11 minutes prior to that incident, the driver of a pickup truck received five text messages, and sent six, and he was seen leaning over just before the accident, leading investigators to believe the driver was likely distracted when his truck plowed at 55 mph into the rear of a tractor trailer, which had slowed or stopped because of a highway work zone. Two school buses then plowed into the wreckage. Two people -- including the pickup truck driver and a bus occupant -- were killed; 38 other people were injured.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-13/us/us_ntsb-cell-phone-ban_1_smart-phones-texting-pickup-truck-driver?_s=PM:US

 

[yssie]

YES! Get off the F*@#ing phone!!!!
I could not agree more.

DH and I like to count how long it takes for people who are left alone to whip out their phones. This is most fun in nice restaurants where using a phone at the table just seems too rude to consider. Yet, as soon as one of a couple leaves the table, guess what comes out? The phone. It's like people can't JUST BE with themselves anymore.

We were in Vegas this weekend and we noticed that all of the people who were alone in the club were also on their cell phones. How can you hope to meet someone if you're too busy staring at your little screen? And why is it that everyone would always rather be talking to someone that isn't there than the people they're actually with in person?

I have the opposite problem. My nearest and dearest are always very frustrated with me because I never pick up my phone. I just never have it out unless I'm expecting a phone call. Otherwise, it's at the bottom of my purse or forgotten at home, and I check my missed calls when I damn well feel like it. Which isn't often.

...That would be me to a T. I use my deskphone for work-related calls, and other than that...


I know I need to be better about calling people - especially some of my family. My parents are always pestering me to call my cousins, grandmother, etc., but, well, is it awful that I really only enjoy my conversations with a few of them? I dislike "catch-up chit-chat", and loathe "obligatory chit-chat", and given that there's pretty much always something I've done - or not done (like not calling in forever!) - that's offended someone that needs to be hashed out in-detail or apologised for... talking to most of my family just leaves me exhausted.

I think the problem is that I grew up in NZ and Australia, thousands of miles away from anyone but my parents, and I learnt to make my own family through friends...

Not that anyone asked!

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-13/us/us_ntsb-cell-phone-ban_1_smart-phones-texting-pickup-truck-driver?_s=PM:US

That's horrifying

 

[ame]

Gray Summit is about 35ish minutes outside of St. Louis (well, depends how fast you drive...) and I remember that crash vividly, it was HORRIFIC. It was all over the news for a long time, and the highway was closed for a VERY long time that day. They STILL flash up shots from that wreckage on TV probably in an attempt to remind people not to text and drive. My brother went to school in Rolla which is about 90 minutes from St. Louis, and IIRC the kids were from St. James, which is like 10 minutes before Rolla. I recall at the University, there were signs and rememberences all over, and all along the highway. I remember he called my mom, he was going towards St. Louis after being down in Rolla for something and it was a parking lot both ways and he didn't know why. My mom turned on TV and told him why. It came out pretty quickly that it was related to the kid on the phone. Such a horrible way to go, it's really NOT worth it

 

[zoebartlett]

I still don't understand how people can text while driving. I can multi-task but that's taking it a bit far. I do talk on the phone while driving though. I will say that since getting a smart phone with a touch screen, it's much harder to make calls while driving, so I pull over while typing in someone's number. With my old phone, I could feel my way around the buttons and I could dial without looking. I actually preferred that to my new smart phone, and I may return to that when this contract's up in a couple years.

TGal, you mentioned how people were going through the aquarium while looking through the lens of their camera (or phones) and not with their eyes. That's precisely why my sister didn't take her camera on a recent trip to Africa. She wanted to experience everything with her eyes and not be fiddling with a piece of equipment while on a safari trip.

 

[zoebartlett]

I'll bet they were talking to each other on their phones.

Jewelerman, I share your feelings about customers on the phone, in spades! People used to come into Tiffany's, start trying on jewelry, & then take a phone call. Put up a finger to indicate I should stand there while they arrange kiddy carpools or weekend hotels or go over last night's party. At first I did, fuming, because if a customer complains about you for any reason, mgmt. NEVER supported employees. After a woman kept me waiting 10 minutes while other people looked in vain for help, I decided, "Let 'em fire me." I gave them enough time to wrap up a conversation -- a minute, say -- & then put stuff back in the case & told them I'd be available when they were done. Never had anyone mind, to my surprise.

People get so wrapped up in their phones, they don't think about how thoughtless they're being.

--- Laurie

That's a huge pet peeve of mine. I once had a friend who was glued to her phone and she'd occasionally do the exact same thing as you described. I couldn't believe how rude she was. Get out of line, step outside, and take the call if it's really that important. Don't put your finger to your lips to silence someone who's trying to assist you.

 

[Porridge]

I check it every 5 mins.

Why, Porridge? I am truly curious -- what are you expecting to find? I honestly don't get what people text or talk about all day long.

I don't know! OK to be fair usually work stuff. But the rest of the time it's nothing important, it's more just out of habit. My hands are idle for more than 5 mins and I get a compulsion to play with the phone. I am making a conscious effort to stop it now, but I am finding it hard to kick the habit.

To be fair, I never ever pull it out in line or in restaurants or when I'm with someone else or anything like that, so at least my habit stops short of rudeness. But yeah. Addicted.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

After having a smartphone I don't know what I would do without it! It's my radio at work (thank you Pandora), my entertainment in long grocery lines (hello Angry Birds!), when I'm out shopping I can quickly and easily look up reviews on a product to see if it's worth buying, it's my GPS in my car, my calendar with alarm reminders, my only source of a camera and SO much more. What my phone is NOT is something to use while driving, or to not pay attention while I'm walking and peck away on my phone (I always move out of the way to look something up). It doesn't replace face to face time with other people and it does not come out when I'm in a social setting. Smartphones are amazing devices when used respectfully. Too bad not many other feel the same way

 

[kenny]

I utterly despise cellphones.
I wish to God the vile filthy things were never invented.

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/iphone_ringer_stops_symphony_U6yX8OMELqxNv9ds9LwRiM#ixzz1jIjUrI6I

SNIP

iPhone Ringer Stops Symphony
January 12, 2012

An idiotic audience member’s smartphone alarm brought the entire New York Philharmonic to a halt Tuesday night in front of more than 2,700 stunned concertgoers at Avery Fisher Hall.
Philharmonic conductor and music director Alan Gilbert was forced to stop a performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.

During the last movement of the monumental and emotional 82-minute work, an iPhone ringtone went off in the front row.
“It simply didn’t stop,” a gobsmacked concert attendee told Page Six. “It wasn’t turning off.”

Gilbert was then forced to halt the symphony, which grows quieter and quieter during the movement.
Turning to face the Lincoln Center audience, Gilbert then announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for this. Usually when these things occur, we ignore them. But this is such an egregious disturbance that I am forced to stop.”

Gilbert then turned in the direction of the front row and exclaimed, “Would you please just admit it. It’s OK, just turn it off. Is it off now?”

Someone farther back in the audience then began to shout, “Throw him out!” and cheered Gilbert.
The conductor resumed the work from the point where he’d stopped, and finished to a well-deserved standing ovation.

Philharmonic spokesperson Eric Latzky told us, “Alan’s main concern was for the audience. And to have this most beautiful, and this most delicate, symphony stopped by an iPhone at its most vulnerable moment — [that] was what Alan was really concerned about, for the other 2,750 people in the hall.”

 

[monarch64]

YES! Get off the F*@#ing phone!!!!
I could not agree more.

DH and I like to count how long it takes for people who are left alone to whip out their phones. This is most fun in nice restaurants where using a phone at the table just seems too rude to consider. Yet, as soon as one of a couple leaves the table, guess what comes out? The phone. It's like people can't JUST BE with themselves anymore.

We were in Vegas this weekend and we noticed that all of the people who were alone in the club were also on their cell phones. How can you hope to meet someone if you're too busy staring at your little screen? And why is it that everyone would always rather be talking to someone that isn't there than the people they're actually with in person?

I have the opposite problem. My nearest and dearest are always very frustrated with me because I never pick up my phone. I just never have it out unless I'm expecting a phone call. Otherwise, it's at the bottom of my purse or forgotten at home, and I check my missed calls when I damn well feel like it. Which isn't often.

I maintain my theory that phone use has taken the place of smoking! It's a social tic.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I utterly despise cellphones.
I wish to God the vile filthy things were never invented.

Isn't this like saying, "I hate cars, I wish those were never invented" After all, cars cause many fatalities each year to innocent people. No, stupid people in cars cause many fatalities to innocent people. A better direction for your loathing might be, "I hate stupid, inconsiderate, people"