EDITOR – I’ve often wondered what the palava was about with the cellphone signal jamming in Parliament last year.
I suppose one can understand that it flies in the face of our Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech, and it was perhaps a thinly veiled attempt to frustrate journalists who would not be able to share the goings-on as swiftly with their audience, the people of South Africa.
However, like with all things in life, there may be a better-fitting application for this specialized technology. I think this better use for cellphone signal jamming instruments is inside every car that’s manufactured, imported or sold in South Africa.
Our roads are death traps, judging by the ever-increasing annual death toll.
While the percentage of pedestrians who die is massive and may not fully benefit from this provision, the incidents where distracted motorists using their mobile phones are responsible for these deaths, as well as the countless, everyday accidents that occur because of people’s fixation with their handsets, will undoubtedly be addressed.
It has become a joke how frequently one sees cellphone-using motorists either reading, texting or talking on their phones. And during this time, they’re blissfully unaware of the danger they post to themselves and others. This technology would be a good start to making South Africans take note of where their focus should be when they get behind the wheel.
You wouldn’t use a cellphone while shooting a gun, and cars are the equivalent of a loaded weapon when they’re driven by people whose focus is shifted to a small screen, a conversation or the latest tidbit of social interaction.
Our Parliament is hell-bent on making a spectacle of itself for all the wrong reasons – why do they not consider putting their time in this most esteemed law-making place to good use and implementing such an idea?
SICK OF CELLULAR MOTORISTS
