Cell Phone Menace

There is an ongoing national campaign on 'road safety' this festive season, but yesterday I almost got involved in a nasty accident on the Federal Highway when the driver of the meandering car ahead of me suddenly slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason. My angry honking as I drove past did not seem to bother him since he appeared pretty agitated himself and engrossed in a heated conversation on his cell phone. I do believe that this type of drivers are a real menace to society and other road users, if not to themselves.

This reminds me of a news report a couple of years ago about a ship ramming into a Greek hillside because the captain was busy talking on his cell phone. Sheeesh. I never thought that this can also happen to ships.


It occurred to me that if the captain was indeed speaking to his girl friend on his cell phone just before the mishap, then this should give an added 'twist' to an old romantic Malay proverb, often used by young lovers to pledge undying love:

Tak kan lari gunung dikejar!
(No need to 'chase' the mountain, it wont run away ... or words to that effect)

No need to crash your ship into the damn thing either.