Cell-Phone Idiocy

I must admit a bit of prejudice against cell phone users - at least those who go about their buisness in public, while babbling on their phones or punchin' the buttons. I've seen too many of them do too many stupid things because they're not paying attention.

There was a story in the news last week, that seems to reinforce the notion that cell-phone and text-message distraction is indeed dangerous.

According to the story (click here to link), 68,000 people were injured in the U.K. last year, while using their mobile voice/text devices. And many of those injuries were a result of... walking into objects like lamp posts!

What to do?

Put padding on those dangerous objects, of course!

In a pilot program of sorts, an advertising company will pad the lampposts on a street in London, and in turn will paint their advertising on the padding. If the trial is "successful" they'll expand it.

How do you determine if it's successful? "Victims" bounce off and land on their butts, instead of sustaining injury?

All of that would be mildly amusing... if you don't consider that those same people, with those same distractions, are driving around our public streets in 3000-pound steel missiles! If somebody can't negotiate a sidewalk without walking into a lamppost, I don't want that same person, in a 35-mph SUV, closing in on me... know what I mean?