It’s not so smart to use your phone on the railway tracks...
says Betty Burke …
There are now more mobile phones in use in the UK than there are people, and around two-thirds of them are smartphones, letting us do all manner of useful things on the Internet. However, few new technologies come without some downsides: William Huskisson, President of the Board of Trade, was killed at the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway in 1830, because he didn’t realize that standing on the tracks when one of the new-fangled trains was coming might be dangerous.
Smartphones aren’t as dangerous as steam trains, but there are still a few things you need to remember when using them.
In the car…
Don’t text, or phone while driving. It’s illegal. You could lose your licence, kill someone else and go to jail, or kill yourself. Need I say more? Actually, Yes. Using a hands-free kit needs caution. A quick ‘don’t put dinner on just yet, I’m stuck in traffic’ won’t distract you any more than listening to the radio; but trying to negotiate a contract over the phone while driving takes a lot more of your attention.
At the petrol station…
The signs on the petrol station forecourt tell you not to use your mobile. That’s because it used to be thought that using your phone could cause a spark and ignite all those petrol fumes. But it seems to be a myth. A 2005 report for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau concluded that of 243 reported such incidents worldwide, none was associated with phones.
So don’t worry that using your phone while filling your car risks an explosion. However, if you are distracted by a call, you might end up putting unleaded in a diesel car, or vice-versa, so this isn’t a risk-free activity.
In the air…
Still on a transport theme, we used not to be allowed to mobile phones on planes, as it was thought that they could interfere with aircraft systems. Nowadays, some airlines let you use them, though not necessarily during take-off and landing. However, just recently, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates these things in the US, said "modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely...and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules".
So we might well be able to use our phones more widely in flight, in future. Whether we’d want to is another matter: you might well prefer to take in the in-flight movie - unless it’s ‘Snakes on a Plane’
Kerb drill…
Remember the kerb drill, which taught children how to cross the road safely, by looking right, left, and right again, and crossing if the road was clear. These days, it really ought to include an instruction – applying to adults as well as to children - not to text or look at Twitter while crossing. Otherwise, the consequence may well be #roadtrafficaccidentstatistic.
At the hospital…
If one of your nearest and dearest is involved in a road traffic accident, you might visit them in hospital, where you’ll probably see an instruction to turn off your mobile. Their signals were once thought to interfere with medical equipment. However, you’ll now see doctors and nurses using their mobiles on the ward.
Now I’m no physicist, but it seems a tad implausible that mobiles do interfere with medical equipment, except when the user is wearing a white coat. Some Finnish researchers also recently got 11 volunteers with heart pacemakers to stand in front of a small indoor base station (that’s a mini phone mast to you and me) and found no indication of any interference. I don’t say ignore hospital signs, just don’t worry unduly if you forget to turn off your mobile. Don’t mess with those fearless Finns, though.
They won’t fry your brain…
Some folk think that using a mobile phone will fry your brain. However, the World Health Organisation, which seems a pretty authoritative source, says that “a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established.”
A handful of scientists disagree. However, they seem a bit like the insane Captain Redbeard Rum in Blackadder. As you may recall, when asked by the eponymous hero whether it was common maritime practice for a ship to have a crew, he replied. “Opinion is divided on the subject. All the other captains think it is: I think it isn’t”.
Take care on foot…
Sticking to the pavement isn’t a guarantee of safety. Back in the day, we’d have worked out where we were going by looking at an A to Z, or at which side of the tree trunk the moss was growing. Those activities tend to be undertaken standing still. Looking at Google Maps, on the other hand, often tends to be an ambulatory activity, not least because we can see our progress via the medium of that little blue dot.
Doing this risks bumping into someone doing something similar heading in the opposite direction. It might be no big deal, from which we can extricate ourselves with a simple “sorry”. However, bump into a 6ft 4ins bloke who has just consumed several pints of 80 shillings, having seen his favourite team thumped five-nil, and the consequences may be more serious.
Don’t get mugged…
A beating from a big, angry person might be the result of an accident. It might, however, be because he is trying to pinch your phone. Around 300,000 mobile phones are stolen each year in the UK. A favourite spot for thieves, apparently, is outside underground rail stations, because we whip out our phones to check for messages as soon as we’ve come up from our subterranean trip.
It’s thus important to be aware of who and what is around you when you do. If the worst does happen, there are apps that can tell you via email the whereabouts of your lost phone, or allow you to lock or wipe it remotely. However, there’s no point bolting the mobile door after the digital horse has bolted – you need to install these before the phone is lost.
Mind your Ps & Qs…
An even greater risk than having your phone stolen is dropping it down the toilet. Apparently, this fate befalls around 855,000 phones every year in the UK. There are various tips for what to do in such circumstances, including the suggestion to try drying the phone by placing it in a bowl of uncooked rice to soak up the moisture. We should thus exercise care when using our mobiles in the smallest room. Oh, and don’t eat the rice afterwards, either.
In a meeting…
If you are in a meeting, turn off your phone. And if you forget, switch it off if it rings. If you don’t, it’s a discourtesy to others at the meeting. If you were in mid-conversation with someone at a pre-arranged time and place, you wouldn’t break off to listen to someone else telling you about PPI compensation. Just because the interruption comes from a small electronic box doesn’t make it acceptable. There are exceptions to this rule: you may be awaiting a call with information pertinent to the meeting at hand; or for a call to rush to the maternity unit, if your wife is expecting a baby imminently.
[Here endeth the lesson – just remember, it could be a life saver, and it might be yours – ed]
