The Mobile Phone Craze

The mobile phone craze appears to be defying all rules of decency and discipline. A young lady is crossing a busy street in an Accra suburb, taking advantage of the slowed down car close to her. A mobile phone was glued to her ear as she took gentle steps to reach the other side of the road. The motorist who slowed down for her was angry over the tortoise-like steps she took as she traversed the road. It is a story which is replicated in Accra day-in day -out, the cost of a mobile phone craze which has afflicted the country. A lady at the public utility company�s counter is trying to serve a customer while simultaneously receiving a call from someone. The customers who had lined up were compelled to eavesdrop into the exchange. �Call back. Yesterday, you made a similar promise but did not fulfill it,� she giggled as her partner, who should have realized that the lady was at work and did not need such romance, appeared to be enjoying the amorous exchange. One wonders why such romantic intimacy should be brought to a public place, especially offering utilities to members of the public. The foregone represent the inconveniences inflicted upon customers who turn up at public places to transact business, a situation occasioned by the reckless use of the mobile phone. Financial institutions appear to have been spared the crap and we hope it would remain so. While serving a very important purpose in our lives today, mobile phones create inconveniences which must be stemmed through various interventions. Heads of institutions must come up with appropriate interventions to stem this worrying and obscene conduct by mostly at public companies. People who use their mobile phones while traversing, especially very busy roads or streets, are putting their lives at serious risks and the police should be given some power to check the dangerous conduct. A divided attention can lead to persons being run over by normal speeding vehicles, let alone those exceeding speed limits in cities. The police�s recent action in arresting drivers who use the mobile phone while driving appears to be paying off. The habit has been on the decline since the clampdown. Although there is no legislation on how to use mobile phones by pedestrians, outlawing their use when crossing busy roads is a suggestion which the authorities might consider doing something about. After all, it is about preserving lives. We do not know how many fatalities have been caused by the reckless use of the gadgets by pedestrians while crossing busy roads. The Ghana Education Service did the right thing when it outlawed the use of mobile phones in senior high schools. If only the foregone suggestions would be given a thought, some sanity would have been brought to bear in public institutions which deal directly with customers.