The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the horrible train crash in California during September 2008 found that the engineer had sent a text message just 23 seconds before 25 people dies. This enrages me as much as it breaks my heart for the victims and their families. I am so tired of seeing people put lives at risk for….what?! It seems to me that we really need to reevaluate our dependence on these devices that can simultaneously enhance and endanger our lives.

Why are we so hooked on our cell phones and other mobile technology? While the benefits of being able to communicate freely wherever and whenever are obvious, it seems that we have gotten drunk; but rather than getting our buzz on at the old town tavern, it’s the bars on our phone that intoxicate us now. It’s time for us to recognize when we have had enough and get our usage under control. Just like alcoholism we can pass these bad habits on to our children and unfortunately for the modern day teen, it may be too late. The cell phone has become a primary mode of socializing for teens and they will often avoid contact with peers that don't have cell phones, according to a study by Context. The Baltimore company uses anthropologists to study consumer trends. "Next time a teenager says, 'Mom if I don't have a phone,' or 'Dad, if I don't have a phone, I'm going to be a nobody,' they are being serious," said Robbie Blinkoff, Context's principal anthropologist.

Blinkoff and his colleagues studied the behavior of 144 cell-phone users between the ages of 16 and 40 from several countries and found that teenagers were so immersed in the technology that they often saw little difference between meeting face to face and talking on the phone. A common scene they observed was a group of teenagers sitting together -- all with ears glued to cell phones -- talking with faraway friends rather than to each other.

While I am not an anthropologist, I have witnessed this behavior in adults as well. We immerse ourselves in pushing buttons rather than pick up a conversation with the person right next to us. What is worse, I have seen parents leave in the middle of school recitals to take that phone call or allow a family night out to Abbey’s Pizza to be interrupted for a call that probably could wait.

Speaking of waiting, if your co-workers are constantly late it may be a direct result of people yakking on their phones while commuting. New research by the University of Utah suggests that people who use a cell phone while driving may contribute to increased traffic congestion. People who talk on a cell phone while driving appear to drive more slowly, are less likely to pass another vehicle, and generally take longer to complete their trips.

University of Utah psychology Professor Dave Strayer, leader of the research team, says it is important to show how cell phone use affects traffic because “when people have tried to do cost-benefit analyses to decide whether we should regulate cell phones, they often don’t factor in the cost to society associated with increased commute times, excess fuel used by stop-and-go traffic and increased air pollution, as well as hazards associated with drivers distracted by cell phone conversations.”

Transportation analysts include two components – accidents and delay – when they calculate the “user costs” associated with road travel.

“A fatal accident could cost as much as $5 million when we take into account medical, property and loss-of-income costs,” says University researcher Peter Martin. “Delay is measured by a composite number representing a measure of the value of a typical American traveler’s time. Today, this number is about $13 per hour. While the costs associated with accidents seem high, there are so very few of them, comparatively, they actually are dwarfed by the user costs associated with delay. If we compile the millions of drivers distracted by cell phones and their small delays, and convert them to dollars, the costs are likely to be dramatic. Cell phones cost us dearly.”

Previous research by Strayer and colleagues include:

• A 2001 study showing that hands-free cell phones are just as distracting as handheld cell phones.
• A 2003 study showing that the reason is “inattention blindness,” in which motorists look directly at road conditions but don’t really see them because they are distracted by a cell phone conversation. And such drivers aren’t aware they are impaired.
• A 2005 study suggesting that when teenagers and young adults talk on cell phones while driving, their reaction times are as slow as those of elderly drivers.
• Cell phone users were 5.36 times more likely to get in an accident than undistracted drivers. Other studies have shown the risk is about the same as for drivers with a 0.08 blood-alcohol level.

Perhaps the bumper stickers say it best; Hang up and drive!