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I think a lot of the school and cell phones talk started after the shooing in Columbine as well. The kids with phones helped the police track the shooters movement through the building so they could zero in on their location.
While I think they did help in that situation, I think you have to weigh the likelihood of needing them against the distraction of having them. It may be more important to have all teachers have cell phones or walkie talkies or something in an emergency than the students.
Also as far as the driving things, I have almost been hit and have also been known to talk at the same time. They say studies show talking on the phone is equally distracting whether it is hands free or not. I don't personally agree that is true. I think the hands free way is much less distracting and more like talking to your passenger. The differences is the person you are talking to cannot watch traffic to know when you have other things to pay attention to since they can’t see the road and don’t know when you are in a hazardous situation.. But I am quick to tell somebody to hold on, I am concentrating on traffic if I need to ignore them for a minute to see what these crazy MD drivers are doing! For emergencies, I think the key is to have a phone available not o talk on it while driving. Same for airplanes (as we have all learned) and any situation when an emergency arises.
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