Okay, I have been absent for a while (knee surgery) and I feel the need to chime in here. As some of you may know, I am in law enforcement. The investigation end not the street enforcement end. The cell phone was one of the greatest tools we ever received as major crimes investigators. It allows us to communicate off of the radio and keep the media and others who listen to scanners away from crime scenes. I will admit that I am regularly on the phone responding to cases, coordinating other agencies and such. I now use a hands free device, but prior to that it was one hand on the wheel and one on the phone. You should see a narcotics or surveillance operation. Driving, using a phone and a radio. I agree that these practices cause distraction. Some people can multitask with practice. A few years ago I was sent to a law enforcement driving course. During one round of driving I received an important call about a case. The instructor told me that I could stop the car until I finished the call, but I did not. After the class that day, the instructor remarked that several detectives took calls while driving. He also noted that all of the detectives drove the course better while talking on the phone, than they did when they were concentrating on what they were doing. It is something we do all the time and we have adapted. Sorry for the ramble, but I have been out of commission for seven weeks and it just backed up in there.
Rick
