"How would you feel if the surgeon removing your appendix talked on the phone — hands free, of course — while operating?"

"How would you feel if the surgeon removing your appendix talked on the phone — hands free, of course — while operating?"

The doctor writing this fantastic article from today's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on talking/texting while driving poses this question to her patients who don't get the essence of the problem — the challenge of concentrating fully on the task at hand while engaged in a phone conversation.

For my frequent commutes between NYC & Philly/Baltimore I usually ride BoltBus (a subsidiary of Greyhound) and am dismayed that they continue to allow their drivers to talk on the phone (hands-free) while driving.  Below is an email I sent their customer service today - I will keep you posted about what they say.  I have also submitted this info on Oprah's website - oprah.com/nophonezone - perhaps she can help change the rules.

To whom it may concern -

I frequently ride BoltBus and am dismayed that so many drivers spend the majority of the bus ride talking on their cell phones (chatting with girlfriends, kids, friends - none of these have been "necessary" calls).  I have even asked a driver, in the interest of the safety of those aboard the bus, to please refrain from making personal phone calls - to which he replied, nastily I might add, that he would make as many calls as he wanted as there was no company policy stating that he couldn't. 

I am sure that you have a company policy that forbids a driver from driving drunk.  With studies showing that talking (on a hands-free cell phone) while driving increases the risk of crashing to the same rate as driving drunk, I don't see how you can continue to allow your drivers to talk on the phone while driving.

I am sharing with you an article from today's New England Journal of Medicine - the most widely respected peer-reviewed American medical journal - on the dangers of talking on the phone (including with a hands free) while driving.  As a pediatrician in a neonatal intensive care unit, I feel confident that if you were the parent of a sick infant you would not want me talking on my cell phone while trying to resuscitate the baby.   So too, I expect that others will show my health and safety the same respect and not drive distracted.

For a company dedicated to safety I hope that you take the necessary steps to make it company policy that drivers are not allowed to talk on a cell phone (hands free or hand held) while driving - because there is NO call that is more important than the lives of the passengers & the driver and the other people on the road.

I would like to speak with the Driver Operations Manager - please forward him/her my contact information and this email.  I look forward to speaking with him/her in the upcoming days.

Best,

Alisa