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Mobile phones are extremely useful as a tool for business. I think, however, that there is a limited justification for private use. This is where the mobile phone augments our bodies and makes us into cyborgs / and the mobile itself becomes a fashion aid. Sometimes I have seem women in supermarkets making mobiles calls to their husbands to say that they couldn't find what he wanted for his supper but would he like that instead? That's sad, necessary? You decide!
Terry Burns, UK

I believe that the mobile phone is a must. My opinion is that the Government should intervene in the pricing of the exorbitant prices charged by the manufacturers for hand-free kit accessories. It should also introduce legislation for all cars using mobile phones to have such installations. Once this is passed, any police patrol spotting a driver using his phone off the hook, will be subjected to substantial fines and endorsements on his licence.
B Baker, Spain

I myself have a mobile 'phone but when in restaurants or public places, I'm always sure to turn it off. I absolutely hate it when people don't consider others when using their 'phones. As for drivers who use theirs whilst driving, well in my opinion, it is the ultimate lack of consideration. As a cyclist I live in fear on the roads especially when I see a driver with a mobile 'phone wedged between shoulder and ear.
I think it's about time the practice of talking on a mobile and driving at the same time was outlawed as these people are endangering other people's lives.
Symn Waters, England

Surely all this hoo-haa is because the technology is relativly new, all new lifestyle changing technologies in the past have given rise to eexactly this sort of debate, in 10 or 20 years cellphones will have "faded into the background" along with cars, television/radio, aeroplanes, synthetic fabrics etc.
Peter, UK

General Aviation pilots have a saying "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate". Automobile drivers should follow suit. Drive first!
Patrick J. Audinet, USA

Mobile phones should be "revamped" so that they wouldn't be "as dangerous". In the case of their usage inside vehicles by drivers, no-hands attachments should be made compulsory; failing that, usage by drivers should be banned altogether.
Also, manufacturers have never worried about developing units with lower micro-wave emissions: they've always gone for the alternative with more power and ever higher frequencies, to the point of making them harmful. And there are now covers that can be attached which are claimed to reduce microwave emissions up to 90%! (Would that be enough?)
Norberto Amaral, UK

A mobile phone is becoming less and less of a luxury and if car kits were cheaper I bet many more people would use them. Nobody likes to feel out of control.
Andrew Flegg, UK

They are a part of society and we'll never be rid of them now!
Grant Hall, Thailand

Unfortunately, in Italy almost everybody (students, plumbers, clerks, lawyers, etc.) has a mobile and uses it everywhere, at work as well as at the gym! There is no place where you cannot hear the ring of a mobile or see a person driving holding the phone in one hand. Most of the time it gets on your nerves just like when I was at the opera and a telephone rang. You can imagine the choral "BOO!" that echoed in the theatre!
Carla E. Negri, Italy

Users of mobile phones should be educated so that they are not used in a way which distracts from their driving. Hands-free phones should be no worse than having a conversation with a passenger in the same car.
Peter Milne, UK

Mobiles should not be used in cars. I agree with what others have said that car driving is not taken as a serious enough responsibility. As for them causing a disturbance on trains etc this only really occurs because people insist on shouting down them. There is no need to talk louder than in a normal conversation, so it need not be a problem.
Lee Mason, UK

I could not survive without a mobile phone. I have used one now for 10 years. I travel a lot and working in countries with different time zones. People not knowing where you are may call at all hours of the day. You are not restricted to being in any one place to receive a call. I do however agree that mobile phones should not be used whilst in a motor vehicle - even with a hands free kit. All your concentration goes into the call and not on your driving. As for making and receiving calls in restaurants etc the most polite thing to do is answer the call, decide if it is important and if it is politely excuse yourself from the table and have your conversation in the foyer or lobby. If it is not important it can wait. Tell the caller you will return their call at your earliest convenience.
Mark Ian Timms, Malaysia

Driving, in virtually any country, requires that the driver pay attention and concentrate on the road and other drivers. Watch the next erratic driver you see. Chances are there is a mobile phone firmly mashed against one ear. Divided concentration can be fatal. These people don't even have the consideration to move to the slow lane but, blissfully unaware of their surroundings continue their "urgent" conversations. Need to use that mobile??? Pull over and talk and get back on the road when the conversation is completed.
Judy Freeman, USA

Mobile phones, like driving, are a responsibility. If you can't do both - admit to it and pull over. Here some providers have 'voice-activated dialing' as a solution to the problem.
Alexander F. Martin, USA

I'm English, but living in Sweden. The percentage of the population who own mobile telephones here is among the highest in the world. There is no stigma attached nor any status symbol with using them - they are simply part of life and this is the way it will be in the UK I'm sure. If Scandinavia is leading the way, "hands-free" telephones for cars are becoming more the norm here so let's hope the UK follows, with or without legislative encouragement.
Simon Raymond, Sweden

Don't these issues polarise opinion? There are cheap handsfree kits now for portables which make using them in car no more dangerous that talking to a passenger or switching on the radio.
John Sykes, UK

Passengers in a car should be able to use a phone without causing accidents, why deny them the convenience, and the possible safety features of having a mobile?
Some years ago when it was possible to fit a television in a vehicle, its use by the driver was banned, and nobody questioned it because the dangers seemed obvious, much the same applies to the phone, especially now that so many of them can provide on-screen messages, much like a pager (maybe these should also be banned).
Perhaps the next threat to driving safety, which is another "two-edged-sword" might be the navigation systems now appearing which provide moving map and directional instructions specifically for the driver to follow - if on a screen he/she must necessarily take eyes off the road to look at the screen.
Michael Admans, Canada

Mobile phones are now a way of life. As the technology develops, the need to hand-hold them will go and they can become safer. As for the intrusiveness, they will become little different to ordinary conversation as earpieces develop and the temptation to shout is removed. As with all innovations, there are a vociferous few who will oppose and an eager media willing to make a newsworthy issue of it! Come on, own up!
K.O'Brien, England

We seemed to manage very well before mobile phones came along. Probably we planned our days and activities better, so as not to need this umbilical cord to our peers and superiors.
One reason they have become so popular so rapidly with non-corporate users is related to their initial rarity and exclusive use by "high-flyers" when they first appeared, and the desire of "lesser mortals" to be seen as greater powers than they are.
Useful to lone women when driving in isolated or dangerous areas, their use elsewhere has become a disturbance and a danger (especially when driving).
Polite behaviour prevents me from sitting in a resteraunt and shouting to a colleague across the room, but many unthinking users see nothing wrong with shouting into their black plastic security blanket in similar circumstances.
Finally, in case you are reading this and thinking "sour grapes", I have had mobile phones in various guises since 1984, and have just cancelled my last subscription. I no longer have a mobile, and instead, I can concentrate on the task I have set out to perform, without contant interruption. I find my life, happines and productivity has been enhanced by removal of this grossly overrated device.
J.Blake, UK

The only difference with other passengers/diners talking is that third parties only hear one side of the conversation as compared to "normal" conversations. Maybe that is the problem: one's curiosity isn't fully satisfied.
J. Moerman, Netherlands

Mobile phones are here to stay and so we must adapt our lifestyles accordingly as we have done with all new innovations.
As regards driving and using mobile phones, the present laws regarding unsafe driving are adequate to discourage irresponsible use. Transistor radios were once regarded as a menace but technology gave us the Walkman.
Paul M. Laye, Sweden

Like any new toy, a mobile is exciting for a while. I've had mine for a few weeks now and any number of people have called me a poser. However, it is very convenient, and already I would be lost without it.
James Barton, UK

I don't understand why people have a problem with mobile phones on trains. How is it any worse than people talking to each other on a train? It's about half the noise (as the other conversationalist is not present). I think people get upset because they can only hear one side of the conversation. Personally, I find children on trains far more disturbing (no, I wouldn't ban them - probably). In restaurants, it depends on the restaurant. Again, though, I cannot think of a logical objection. It's just someone talking, after all, and lots of people do that in restaurants.
Steve Knight, UK

Who honestly drives with both hands on the wheel at all times? Whos not taken their eye off the road for a few moments to twiddle the radio? Whos not held a conversation with a passenger in their car? If my car breaks down or I've forgotten my airplane tickers or I can help out at an accident or my wife goes into labor then I'll be glad I have my phone with me in the car.
Matthew Underwood, UK

Driving while on phone may jeopardise road safety,but a cell phone is very useful when you have to call for an ambulance because of an alcoholic driver
Yoann Malys, France

One trip with a seriously ill toddler with telephone support from the hospital convinced me that all parents should have access to mobile comms. Irresponsible use is covered by driving without due care and attention legislation.
Smoking at the wheel is the bigger worry.
Pete Read, UK

The laws are already there to stop drivers using mobile phones on the move. But motorists should be aware of them; they're obviously not. More education is needed, not more laws.
James Cridland, Huddersfield, UK

The problem is that most people aren't coordinated enough to do more than one thing at a time. The shouldn't even be allowed to drive let alone drive with a cell phone.
Kent Dillingham, Venezuela

I can't see anything wrong with mobile phones when they are used properly. But yes, it is extremely annoying having someone in a restaurant or train shouting down one. With regards to driving I think he only practical way to deal with the situation is to come down very hard on anyone that has an accident when using a mobile phone. I think that any preemptive legislation (however desirable) would be unworkable.
Jonathan Clough, UK

I don't understand how people can complain about others using phones in trains, public places etc. These people are just talking - or is that next on the list of things to ban? Hand held phones in cars however should be banned however, and hands free kits made compulsory. It is simply not safe to try and hold a phone and drive.
Dave Nicholson, UK

In Malaysia (where I come from), I have witnessed car accidents due to people talking on their mobile phone while driving. As a result, using phones while driving is banned in Malaysia and Singapore. However, motorists are still allowed to use their phones - provided a hands-free car kit is installed. Maybe the UK government could do something similar.
E.P.Lim, Oxford, UK

A mobile phone is necessary for business, particularly when you spend a lot of time out of the office or have a job which involves the use of hot desks. However, it should be illegal to use a phone in a car without a hands free adapter. Surely it is not beyond the technology to prevent phones from working when in a car without being plugged into a hands free adapter.
John Bult, UK

The use of hand helds in cars is dangerous and should be banned - no question. A technical solution already exists with most makes of phone (and airtime providers) offering car instalaltion kits which allow 'hands free' operation.
I use my mobile all the time in the car -using the hands free kit. The only problem is that people in other vehicles think your talking to yourself!
Garry Metcalf, UK

It's not the phones that are the menace it's irresponsible users. I live near Ross-on-Wye and a few years age Marie Wilks was murdered on the motorway when her car broke down and she had to walk to a phone. If she had had a mobile she would be alive today.
I hate to drive alone without my phone but I don't use it on the move. Hands free sets should be OK. Perhaps a little distracting but no more than a chatty passenger or radio programme. Surely the answer is to make it an offence to hold a phone while driving as you cannot be in full control. Come to think of it how about making it an offence to smoke while driving. I have seen smokers drop a lighted cigarette and panic trying to retrieve it.
Valerie Coker, England

Can't the Scientists ever give us a straight answer? Are they dangerous or not? When will we know for sure?
Tim Davis, UK

Much more effort should be put into looking at the long term radiation effects for mobile users. It should be illegal to use a hand held mobile in a car. In Asia they have a cradle plus a microphone cum speaker "wire" system which works perfectly well, is cheap and allows both hands to remain on the wheel.
Russell Stagg, Indonesia

I think mobile phones are a very useful means of communication in today's world. They represent security, availability, boost efficiency and help promote better relationships as a result. Their use in cars can lead to accidents but there are a number of other equally distracting situations likely to prevail upon the car driver if he allows it. Overall I wouldn't be without mine.
N Bevitt, UK

One need only look at the results of a Canadian study which showed that mobile phone use while driving is comparable to driving while intoxicated, to conclude that driving and using a mobile phone is not a good idea. However, we have in mobile phones another product whose use, like tobacco, is driven by advertising and not by reason.
The risks of mobile phone use should be substantiated and plainly stated. The liabilities should be adjusted accordingly so that the legal responsibilities of the manufacturers and the consumers are made clear.
Dr. James D. Gibson, USA

People can smoke, eat and drink while driving - why penalise those responsible ones who want to talk while driving?
Imran Kausar, Scotland

As a driving instructor I must consider the use of hand held mobiles while driving to be unsafe. However, I do think that smoking is much worse, but no one seems to make a fuss about that.
Susan Millar, UK

The public needs to be educated to the dangers associated with the innapropriate use of mobile phones - hopefully making it as unnaceptable as drink driving.
Ian Sedgwick, UK

Hands-Free mobile phones are no more dangerous than listening to the radio / conversing with a passenger. Safer, in all probability, than smoking and driving. The benefits to business of mobile phones is enormous, and therefore the cost to business of banning should not be underestimated.
Adam Grindey, England

Driving while on the phone should be banned; even "hands-free" phones should not be allowed. Apart from that, mobile phones are useful.
Cormac McGettigan, UK

What about the dangers of other in-car gadgets: how many accidents have been caused by people trying to fiddle with their multi-changer RDS new radio systems (not to mention the air-con..).
Matt Jones, UK

I wonder if Stuart Slade, USA, would have the same view, if he was involved in an accident in a remote area - I doubt it. Mobile phones are great, but the problem is with the people (myself included), who use them. People cause crashes, not the phones we talk on, or cars we drive.
Andrew Weaver, UK

Surely it is already illegal to drive without due care and attention. Don't blame the mobile phone for peoples failures. I have seen drivers reading newspapers on Londons roads.
Alan Nolan-Davies, UK

It's not the mobile phones themselves that are the problem but the people who use them. Mobiles can be life-savers and undoubtedly play an important role in the lifestyles of many people.
However, owners have a duty to use them in a socially acceptable way. Endangering the lives of others by using mobiles while driving is not acceptable. Neither is using them in public places to the annoyance of other people. If users would treat them as just another tool rather than a status symbol to be flaunted in front of everyone else, there would be less of a problem.
Neil Tonks, UK

Mobile phones are essential for those people who don't lead a cosy life at home with a land line from BT, they are vital for vulnerable people at night in difficulties and a host of other applications such as fax, data etc. etc. Where are these Luddites?Get a life!
Henk van Roest, UK

The predominant function of mobile phone is a status symbol and a 'trendy' fashion accessory. However, few other accessories can raise your blood pressure to the extent of the perpetual ringing of the wretched things in public - especially on trains. They should be immediately banned!
Derek Dunn, Manchester, UK

I think that the moblie phones discussed in this issue and the dangers of their usage, are perfectly good explanations for the ban of their use in cars.
Mickey, USA

As a university student, my mobile phone is a necessity. The halls of residence I live in has two pay phones for 112 students. Also any incoming calls are not guaranteed to reach me, even if a message is taken. My mobile phone is for peace of mind more than anything else, for me and my parents.
Richard Coltman, UK

I live in horror of the day when I'm inevitably going to be handed one by my boss or my wife. Of course we'll all own one soon and we'll all wonder how we ever lived without it. The fact is that we did (I still, for the moment, do) and we enjoyed those periods reading on the train or walking through the streets of New York when we knew that no one could bother us with a phone call.
Rick Mumma, USA

Mobile phones are simple evolution. When the telephone was first invented everyone thought that was a nuisance as well. I do not like them being used where they may disturb others, but in public I see no problem whatsoever.
Lawrence D. Brenninkmeyer, UK

There is no need to waste time for a call when you can be reached anywhere. It allows security, and use in emergencies when other communications possibilities are not available.
Richard Berglund, USA

I use a mobile, but switch it off when in my car. This stops me from having to answer it when on the move. I use the Vodaphone Recall messaging service to get messages when I'm driving. It makes sense...
Mike Broom, England

Like everything else, there is a right and wrong time to use them. Anyone who loses control of the car through using a mobile is a potential killer, but all modern mobiles can have an answerphone to take a message whilst the owner is otherwise engaged.
Ken Rennoldson, UK

As an expatriate now living in Raleigh, North Carolina, I am nervous when my wife and 17 year-old daughter are driving alone in their cars. Too many times in this area have unaccompanyed women been assaulted while stranded on the roads. The availability of mobile phones adds to my peace-of-mind.
Roe O'Donnell, USA

Yes, they're a must. Until recently. my wife was involved in care work which often meant driving during the night on lonely country roads. Her mobile phone made all the difference to my peace of mind. She doesn't use it on the move, nor in circumstances where it's ikely to annoy others.
Like any other tool, the mobile phone cannot be blamed for the the fact that good manners have all but disappeared in this country over the last couple of decades.
I recall a saying that pre-dates mobile phones, but still applies: 'Convenience is one telephone. Efficiency is two telephones. Luxury is no telephone at all'.
John Luby, Scotland

I agree with Mr Luby, luxury is to be without a phone. Why do we need to be contactable all the time? Being disconnected for a while is healthy, it also stops those who are after you from taking your availability for granted. As an exercise in marketing a false need, mobile phones have been a complete success.
Busby, UK

The problem with the Mobile Phone use in car menace is not the Mobile itself, it is with the lax attitudes to the responsibilities of driving in this country. It's not ok to be only a bit distracted, or to consume only a couple of pints. Driving puts you in charge of a moving vehicle with the power to maim, kill and otherwise harm others. Can you imagine Pilots, commercial or private, saying it's ok to have your judgment impaired or distracted just a little? Why do we allow it on the roads?
Paul Rushworth, London

The proliferation of these phones have saved many lives by ensuring an even quicker response by the emergency services. However, I totally agree with Paul Rushworth of London, that the menace is not the phone itself but the lax attitude of the car drivers.
Andrew M. Mynott, UK

Mobile phones bring benefits when used properly and with courtesy. I have been stuk on a broken down train and seen mobile phones passed around the carriage so that fellow travellers could ring home and advise of the delays. What is annoying, is when a phone user seems to think that that entire carriage should hear his conversation as well as the person on the other end of the phone. Fortunately this type of person is rare on the trains which I generally catch.
Andrew Ward, Cambs, UK

Mobile telephones and driving do not mix. Handling an automobile in dense traffic at any speed needs the driver's full attention. Trying to use a mobile phone under these conditions endangers the lives of the driver and the people around them. It should be illegal to install or use a mobile phone in any vehicle other than emergency services or police cars. A $5,000 fine for using such equipment while the car is moving sounds about right.
Stuart Slade, USA

I believe they are a must in the business world, and also, for ordinary people especially women travelling alone should they have a breakdown in their car, or if faced with a sudden dilemma. Providing of course they use them when the car is stationary - or have a hands-free mobile.
V. B. Jackson, England

Anyone involved in an accident whilst making or receiving a telephone call on their handheld mobile should at the very least be tried for driving without due care and attention or greater offence depending on the result of the accident. In some countries, such as Singapore, where mobiles are installed in cars, they are hands free telephone sets. Anyone caught with the handset to their ear are fined accordingly. This seems to be a good compromise.
Mark Bottrell, Hong Kong

In my business, I simply couldn't do without my mobile phone... mind you, there is an appropriate time and place to use one.
Alistair Thompson, UK

To many, including myself, mobile phones are becomming a must - what can be annoying is those who use them without consideration for others. This can include driving dangerously, using them in restaurants and places where peace and quiet is required! Ringing tones can be turned down, or vibrating batteries can be used, and when in a car a handsfree kit should be used, as well as keeping the call short.
But it is a very handy thing, when stuck at a tube station or broken down on a sideroad to have such easy communications. And it keeps business in touch.
Ian Skelton, UK

If all mobile phones were disconnected, nobody would lose out. Business-wise, it becomes a problem when competitors have them and you don't.
I have one, it is in my pocket for emergency use only. It has been used to summon police or ambulances. It has not been used loudly in restaurants or on public transport. It makes me jump if it goes off whilst I am driving so is very rarely on at those times. It certainly is not used whilst moving.
M. Brimacombe, Devon, UK

If we can reduce the risk of such a thing happening then we should. It's like wearing seatbelts in cars. Not everyone is going to have an accident and those that are don't know when, but there is a risk so you wear a seat belt to reduce the chance of being killed.
Chris Nottingham, Singapore

When other people complain about someone speaking into a mobile say on a train, or in another public place, what exactly is the difference between them speaking into a phone, or speaking to another person? Is it just a bit frustrating for the eavesdropper because they can't hear both sides of the conversation?
Most people are polite enough to turn their phones off before going into a restaurant, or anywhere that silence is required such as a theatre, and anyone who does not do this deserves criticism. But in general, use of the mobile phone is just another part of the changing world we live in and I think it is probably only people without phones who complain.
Kim Le Boutillier, England

Mobile phones are a part of continually improved facilities for communication.
David Warren, UK

Mobile phones are a curse to those who own them and a curse to those who don't. If you have one, you become its slave. All notion of privacy disappears as you are expected to have it on at all times where ever you are. It's expensive and no matter how much you try to restrict your use of it to keep down call charges, it just doesn't work. If you don't have one, you spend all your time cursing bad mobile etiquette which leads users to talk in loud, obnoxious voices in very public places. Now, scientists tell us mobiles could be putting our health at risk! Dustbin look out!!
Steven Murray, UK

Negative attitudes towards mobile phones are simply motivated by jealousy. Mobiles, were once the toys of the rich. Even though now they are far more accessible, the stigma has remained and users are continuously being berated for one thing or another. I use my mobile as an essential part of my work and I spend a large part of my work in my car. I am neither a danger to society nor to myself and I will continue to use a mobile in and out of the car.
Robert Wilson, Leeds, UK

People who walk along the street talking into phones are either drug dealers / criminals / incredibly important or absolute posers. I suggest the latter.
Martyn Davis, UK

Cell phones are hazardous along with women putting on makeup while driving.
Adrian Morgan Ewing, New Jersey, USA

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