Cell phone jammers

[kenner]

Now that jammers are available and legal for purchase but not legal to use, the temptation is still there. I am acquainted with a teacher who uses on in her classroom surreptitiously to keep students from cheating. Today having lunch in a nice restaurant, not fast food, I had about all I could stand of "like you know" and a jammer would certainly have been tempting. Would you use one More research says it is not legal to own one either but I doubt that will make a big dent in illegal sales to the desperate or to those who have illegal plans in the works.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I think wherever there is a cash register there should be one installed. Even though there are signs that no cell phone use is allowed inside some establishments, they are used ALL THE TIME! :mad:

I don't know what makes my bum madder, those in front of me at a checkout who can't make up their minds on what lottery ticket to buy or !@#$holes with cellphones keeping the cashier waiting while they talk to whoever is on the other end about where they are going (I can think of a place to tell them!) etc...

Other places it would be nice to have them at:
Gas pumps
Information booths
Ticket counters
Traffic lights (Yes ALL of them!!!)

[mjc]

There are ways of jamming a signal, without resorting to a 'jammer'. If businesses (theaters, restaurants, schools) were to adopt these types of construction practices, then in general many people would be happy...but the flip side is, at least out of schools, that there really isn't any difference if the rude, obnoxious idiot is talking on a cell phone or to someone seated right next to him...and, at least in the US, it is still legal to speak in public places.

Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, but unless my wife is on-call, I don't answer the phone during meal times (don't talk on the cell either, when out to eat). I also turn off the boob-tube and if the radio is on, it is on something that will be music and quiet music at that...

[Ajmukon]

Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, but unless my wife is on-call, I don't answer the phone during meal times (don't talk on the cell either, when out to eat). I also turn off the boob-tube and if the radio is on, it is on something that will be music and quiet music at that...
and you deal with computers because....
;):rolleyes:

as for me, i always keep my phone on vibrate unless in an airplane. If i am watching a movie, eating, etc- i just let it vibrate.

if i have to answer it, i either put it on speaker phone, or go outside

[George Hallam]

as for me, i always keep my phone on vibrate unless in an airplane

same here i hate it when your asleep at night and your woken up by a drunk mate talking rubbish :rolleyes:

Traffic lights (Yes ALL of them!!!)

is that saying that you can use cell phones in the car in the US?

[Fruss Tray Ted]

is that saying that you can use cell phones in the car in the US?

There is talk of outlawing their use in cars but that is mostly unenforcable or non-provable in court.

But to answer you more specifically, I was behind someone who seemed to have nowhere to go earlier just today. I wanted to get to the lumber store and get back in time to get more 'Home Improvements' done but nooo,,, the person in front of me was puttering along on a curvy road doing 1/2 the speed limit. He FINALLY took a turn off the main road immediately AFTER hanging up his cell phone and as I passed, I noticed his other hand was holding a large styrofoam coffee cup! :eek: He was steering with his knees!!~! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

With todays lawyer driven lawsuits I can just imagine what would have happened if he had said I caused him to make a fist (or middle finger) with the styrofoam holding hand... I probably would have the responsibility for the hospital bill of his steaming a second degree burn on Big Jim and the twins!!!!

Am I too late for purchasing a ticket to Mars on the first flight?!?!?

[George Hallam]

There is talk of outlawing their use in cars but that is mostly unenforcable or non-provable in court.

wow in the UK and just came to Cyprus it seriously enforced

in the UK if you are court on the phone you get 3 points on your license and get fined a hefty amount of $$$ :eek:


Am I too late for purchasing a ticket to Mars on the first flight?!?!?

nope i bought them all :p im selling them on ebay now :D

[Paula De Niro]

Sadly the UK law does not seem to deter people from having a cellphone up to their ear, certainly not where I live. I notice that people on cell phones often drive slower than normal.

[pop pop]

Using a hand held cell phone while driving is illegal in NJ and subject to a $250 fine. Unfortunately, it's seldom if ever enforced.

In Japan, it's banned. I don't know what the law specifically says because I don't drive here. Also, cell phones must be in "Manner Mode" (silent) when on public transportation, in theaters, etc. Even then, it's considered very bad manners to talk on the phone at all in any of those places...and nobody does.

[George Hallam]

i always have my phone on vibrate... i dont think its that bad if you have your phone to your ear in the car its probably worse eating a MacDonald's on your lap or a kebab :p

i think at the table at dinner times you should NOT answer/use your phone thats just really impolite..

[deddard]

same here i hate it when your asleep at night and your woken up by a drunk mate talking rubbish :rolleyes:



is that saying that you can use cell phones in the car in the US?

3AM: A text message, or a phone call. Don't you just want to get these people by the nadgers and squeeze hard? I barely sleep as it is, so muppets sending funnies in the early hours as they've had a few bevvies and think it would be nice to share really need a big piece of chocolate cake....of the ex-lax variety, that should keep them occupied.

WIth the UK law, I'm amazed at how many people still get away with it. WHat's worse is when you see someone with a cell phone in one hand up to their ear, and the other holding a sandwich..map, book........ fill in your own cause of crash here.

[Cavalier90]

A 3am text message would not be picked up until 8 am when I switch my phone back on. There is an off button you know.

[LadyGrey]

Here in Virginia there are no laws about driving and using a cell or using it anywhere else except hospitals and there are some places that ask you to turn off your phone.
When I went to the ER for the foot, sign outside clearly states in 4 different languages to turn off your phone. Everyone in there was talking on cell phones and the guards did nothing about it. My phone was off I'm not addicted to them just addicted to computers.
It's either one or the other, they can't read, which I think is the most likely or they haven't been raised right and are just plain rude.
I'm with you mjc, I'll take being old fashion any day of the week!

LG;)

[Budfred]

i always have my phone on vibrate... i dont think its that bad if you have your phone to your ear in the car its probably worse eating a MacDonald's on your lap or a kebab :p

i think at the table at dinner times you should NOT answer/use your phone thats just really impolite..

There was just a report on TV about a young woman who tried to text while driving... She survived the crash...

If you read the data, it is NOT safe to drive and talk on a cell phone, whether you hold it to your ear or you use Bluetooth... It is a matter of attention, not where you have your hands... The data is overwhelming... About the only thing that is worse than driving distracted is driving drunk... Young people claim they can handle the multitasking, the research has proved otherwise... Given that young people die more from vehicle accidents than any other single cause, it really isn't hard to show how dangerous it is...

[kenner]

Cells phones just extend the ability to be rude, careless and destructive. A friend has a Christmas tree farm and snowmobilers refuse to honor his no snowmobile signs. Last year he had enough. Lucky for him, he also has dairy farm. The first good snowfall, he cleaned the barn and left the manure in the usual path for late night snowmobilers. What ever it takes to get the point across. Now if I could just find a way to short circuit cell phone use. This past week a 16 year old driving and yakking, crossed the center line and killed the other driver. It's ridiculous. :mad:

[Whyzman]

If I hear someone next to me in the men's room on the phone...I routinely flush! :mad:

[Paleo Pete]

If I hear someone next to me in the men's room on the phone...I routinely flush!

I like that...I try to honk when on the road...

I'm not sure but I think there's a law forbidding cell phones in the car here too, but it's not only not enforced, 9 out of 10 cops I see have a cell phone to their ear. The former police captain ordered them to get earpieces and use them, he accomplished little before he resigned, disgusted with the local "good ol boy" attitude and petty politics that caused at least 8 officers to quit in the past 2 years. Including the head honcho.

When my father was in the hospital he refused to accept the fact that signs saying NO CELL PHONES or TURN CELL PHONES OFF were up all over the place, he insisted I bring his to his room. I never did, he'd not only use it constantly in the hospital, but would be talking to his step daughter every day (long distance) and run up a huge bill on roaming calls. Never did get him to believe when his phone, he got it in another state, said ROAMING, it was going to cost him a lot per minute if he went over the monthly 200 minutes or whatever. Plus the only person he was interested in talking to was his step daughter, he called her every day without fail once he went to a nursing home for rehab (3 weeks) and called his own kids once each and pouted all day because I made him do it.

But the point is, he wanted to use the cell phone 20 feet from the ICU, and told me I was full of *&^% when I told him he was taking a good chance of stopping somebody's breathing machine or whatever, so what, he wanted to use the cell phone, ICU used a cordless...

I'm not sure which is worse on the road, cell phones or make up...ladies, get your make up done BEFORE you leave the house, you've run me off the road enough times already.

Cell phones are dangerous while behind the wheel, that's that. And I have to use mine now and then, but I make sure I never answer it in town, only on the highway, and I get off there quick as possible or pull over if I can't. I watched someone sit through two red lights a few days ago, talking on the phone, no idea the light had changed...

Put the phone down and drive already...

[MadMax08]

is that saying that you can use cell phones in the car in the US?

i don't know about other states, currently, but i know in California they are passing/passed a law saying if you're on the cell in a car, it must be "handsfree" either bluetooth or wired headset, etc. starting January 2008.

[Budfred]

i don't know about other states, currently, but i know in California they are passing/passed a law saying if you're on the cell in a car, it must be "handsfree" either bluetooth or wired headset, etc. starting January 2008.

That is mostly politics... The research shows that it is attention that is the issue, not the inappropriate use of hands... That said, the young woman who was texting while driving would not be able to do that with a headset... Ultimately, I think they need to find a way to prevent the driver from using a cell phone (or doing pretty much anything except driving) when he/she is driving... While I doubt that will be possible, it certainly argues for self-driving vehicles...

[mjc]

While I doubt that will be possible, it certainly argues for self-driving vehicles...

I've been waiting for that to pop up...

Ever since we have adopted a nanny-state mentality, just about every 'risky' activity has come under fire for more control by those 'who know what is best'...the day the car starts driving itself and leaving me, the supposed driver, as just another passenger, is the day I quit driving.

The whole point of the matter is...no matter what, driving is risky. Legislating behavior, seldom, if ever works. Educate. Make it part of the driver education process to explain and show (and these days with the prevalence of computers, even simulate) the hazards of driving while distracted (and not just cell phones).

Really, this whole topic has turned into something other than what the title says...jamming is not the same as legislating out usage.

Teaching manners and common courtesy would do a heck of a lot more good than another law.

[Whyzman]

It may be that studies are pointing to phone distraction rather than manner of use, ie., handheld or handsfree... However, my pet peeve with handheld use has to do with lane changing. Especially, if a person has a handheld in their left hand...they are very unlikely to use their turn signal when lane changing. My personal observation is that failure to signal has dramatically increased...and is very dangerous since many folks are speeding. This combination can also be deadly.

[Whyzman]

At least with handsfree, folks would be less likely to simply avoid using their turn signals due to inconvenience. If one is holding a cell in the left hand, using the turn signal is a formidable problem involving letting go of the steering wheel entirely...

Personally, and I've read the report, I find myself much more attentive to my surroundings when using an ear piece. For some reason, holding that phone to my ear sets into play a host of additional distractions. Keeping the tiny sound hole over the best spot on my ear usually requires constant shifting of the handset. I'm also stuck with the use of only one hand on the steering column. The 10 & 2 o'clock positions are out the window. Even if the phone is held in my right hand, to use the turn signal requires letting go completely of the steering wheel...even if every so quickly...

Perhaps that's part of the initial additional distractions one faces. After a while, the old driver's training class repetition, and the inner voice one hears, "your breaking the law and could get fined for failure to use your turn signal"...evenually, just go away... :(

[Budfred]

If it were as simple as teaching courtesy and rules of the road, I wouldn't have been able to walk up to the intersection near my house and watch 10 people run the red light in one change of the light even before cell phones were an issue...

I am not big on the idea of mandating self-driving cars and I am not sure that is even a possibility... However, I don't think it is likely that people are going to stop driving with distractions just because they learn it isn't a good idea... Every teen I have talked to about it says that it could be a problem for some people, but they are really good at multi-tasking and can handle it... Of course, the research that proves that isn't true doesn't matter to them either...

[Whyzman]

Obviously, if 8 out of 10 will have and accident...they're the other 2... :rolleyes: