iPhone Safety Risk
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There's been a lot of talk about how the iPhone could create security risks for the enterprise, but I don't think this is what people had in mind: The cabbie taking me from Logan airport to our quaint offices in suburban Woburn through the driving rain didn't know how to get to the 100 Unicorn Park address. "You been there already?" he asked me. "Not so I could tell you how to get there," I replied. Not a problem--the driver had an iPhone. Speeding along at a healthy 70-mile-per-hour clip on rain-slicked Interstate 93 North, he held the sleek device in his right hand, opened a browser, searched for a Google map, and pushed and pulled the map around, deftly zooming in and out in an attempt to find the proper exit ramp, occasionally checking his actual position on the actual road and making the necessary adjustments. Mostly, he was prompted by my hoarse exhortations from the back seat: "Pole"; "Car left"; "Lane." As the existence of this post attests, I arrived at 100 Unicorn Park safe and sound. Having recovered my wits, I asked the driver how the iPhone was working for him. "Not so happy," he said. "Why not?" "The battery life sucks. And no GPS," he said. When cell phones first became ubiquitous, many cities passed laws requiring drivers to use hands-free devices so they could keep their hands on the wheel. I know some people find the iPhone irresistible, but do we really need legislation forcing drivers to keep their eyes on the road? |
Comments (5)
Thanks for the chuckle
Posted by Daniel Reiss | November 30, 2007 12:27 PM
well, there are other laws that are apparently required when common sense should suffice (drunk driving, changing lanes in the middle of an intersection, and holding babies in laps while driving). unfortunately, as these examples suggest, it is likely that cell phone distraction will continue to be a hazard to drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians alike despite what the laws say.
Posted by stephen | November 30, 2007 12:43 PM
We already have legislation (in most states) that demands that drivers keep eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
Unfortunately, as you have so recently experienced, many people don't really care to obey the laws if it's not convenient to them.
I, myself, have witnessed bus drivers chatting on their hand held cell phones, women applying eye makeup, men and women fixing their hair, people sending and reading text messages, people reading newspapers, people reading full-size folding maps over the steering wheel, people solving crosswords, people unwrapping fast food and then eating (often using both hands and steering with the sides of their wrists), and a multitude of other dangerous activities.
We don't need more laws. Creating new ones will only muddy the waters, and they won't make it any more illegal.
A little enforcement, however, would go a long towards making people think: if not about the potential for physical injury and damage, then at least the potential for damage to their bank accounts.
Posted by Andara Bledin | November 30, 2007 12:52 PM
You can't legislate common sense.
You can however buy a BlackBerry 8830 with it's internal GPS. :)
Posted by Jesse | November 30, 2007 12:54 PM
The number three cause of death in the US is traffic accidents. The number one cause of accidents is drivers not paying attention.
Posted by brian | December 2, 2007 11:01 AM