Text on mobile phones

Mobile phones are a public hazard

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I am pleased to be here in person, and not on the end of a digital phone link. I believe that mobile phones are a hazard to the public, and I have three very good reasons to support my view.

First, and most important, is the danger of mobile phones to road users. How many times have you seen a driver speeding along with only one eye on the road, one hand on the wheel and all his attention on the phone? Police forces across the country have recorded a 50% increase in accidents in which drivers were using mobile phones. All of us are at risk from these mobile madmen. We must act together to keep our roads safe and ban the use of mobile phones in cars. Just as important as “Don’t drink and drive” should be “Don’t talk and travel”.

The second danger associated with mobile phones is related to our health. A worrying number of medical reports have linked the use of mobile phones with tumours on the brain. Professor John Smith from Oxford University said “People who think this risk is unimportant should ask themselves why the phone companies now recommend that people use special protective cases for their phones, which are designed to block harmful radio waves. Why are these needed if mobile phones are safe?”. When cigarettes were first sold, no-one realised how harmful they would be, but look at the damage they have caused to the nation’s health. Until mobile phones are proved to be safe, they should carry the same health warnings as cigarettes.

The third reason for my opposition to mobile phones concerns crime. Our streets are already so dangerous that people are afraid to go out after dark. Mobile phones simply add to the problem. Carrying an expensive mobile phone makes you a walking target for the mugger who is looking for something valuable and easy to steal. It’s like leaving a key in the ignition of an unlocked Porsche. It is ironic that many parents have provided their children with mobile phones for safety, little realising that by doing so they have increased by 40% their children’s chances of being mugged. If you are one of these parents, I hope that you don’t find out the hard way what an expensive mistake you have made.

Mobile phones appear to be fashionable, high-tech and desirable, but when you next see an advertisement for Orange or Vodafone please think about what it doesn’t mention: the hazard of mobile phones on our roads, to our health and on our streets. Together we can oppose the spread of these digital disasters and promote the message that it can be dangerous to dial.