Time to sit up and pay attention. Last week, a Navy midshipman was cleared of vehicular manslaughter charges after he was involved in an auto accident while talking on his cell phone that resulted in the death of a New York couple. The judge said he could not find the defendant grossly negligent, that he himself uses his cell phone while driving and that the issue “should be subject to extended research.”
The couple’s two children survived the crash last Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C. It is not the first time we have heard of such an accident, and unfortunately it won’t be the last.
Two people died. How is the industry responding?
‘Tis the season to shop ’til you drop and early reports indicate a banner year for holiday gift sales. Along with all the electronic puppies, animal print clothing and DVD players, I am sure more than a few new wireless phones will be appearing under the collective Christmas tree.
I wonder how many of them will be given with a hands-free kit.
I don’t want to get into judging the industry’s total effort toward wireless safety efforts, but it seems that the historically successful fourth-quarter sales season might be a good opportunity to help solve “the problem.”
I am getting a new wireless phone for Christmas this year.
I did NOT snoop. I only know this because the UPS man delivered it while I was home and my husband was not. The box included a phone, charger and instruction manual.
“What about the hands-free kit?” I asked my hubby. He said he thought he would pick one up at a local retailer. I asked if the salesperson he had ordered the phone from suggested one. No.
After a quick search on Amazon.com, I did not find any phones that included a hands-free kit, and I was never prompted to consider one.
I flipped through the pages of one of the big daily newspapers here. Out of more than a dozen advertisements for holiday wireless promotions only one included information about a hands-free kit.
The average price I have found for hands-free kits is $20. I keep waiting for the day when the hands-free device is simply included in the phone sale. I can’t believe that $20 in goodwill and positive public relations is not worth it over the average customer lifespan.
The wireless industry continues to thrive (and I am most certainly thankful for that) despite bad press about possible links to health problems and driver safety issues, but these problems are not going to disappear.
Ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility, but consumers are more likely to be responsible when it is cheap and easy to do so.
Can we really afford to let even the small opportunities to help save a life go by? Hands-free kits alone won’t solve the problem, but they can’t hurt.
