Good driving is all about being fully focused on the road and paying undivided attention to your surroundings as you cruise along. It is therefore imperative that the driver not be distracted by looking at the shop-signs along the way or by throwing curious glances at some roadside accident as he drives along.
Equally important is the need to not indulge in something as distracting as receiving a phone call or, even worse, making a phone call. The distraction, at some inopportune moment, can even prove costly if not fatal. Surprisingly, there are even daredevil drivers who presume to know the magic trick of holding on to the steering wheel with one hand and send an SMS with the nimble fingers of the other!
Even when a driver has earphones, holding a conversation on the mobile while driving can be risky since a conversation has this tendency to sometimes engross the participant fully with the result that he may not notice the green signal turning red and inadvertently cross it—with consequences. Or may suddenly brake or take a right or left turn or change the lane without fully taking stock of the traffic situation around him. The result can be a damaging accident where he may not have much to offer when by way of an excuse when faced by the Traffic policeman.
Therefore, once you have worn the seat belt and switched the engine on, before you put your foot on the accelerator it is advisable to switch your mobile off, or at least put it on the silent mode. No ring, no agitation, no desire to pick the phone. If case you have a co-passenger, you can place the phone near him so if there is a ring he may answer for you in case of an emergency, or tell the caller you are driving and take the message.
There still remains the issue of you as a driver being inspired to make a phone call while driving. This is something you must not do. And if it is so urgent that you HAVE to make a phone call then the etiquette of the highway and the demands of safety require that you park aside properly either in an empty space outside the highway lanes or in a lay-by and only then start dialing the number.
A man driving on a highway, engrossed in a lively conversation, has the same level of personal safety as a person crossing the road busy exchanging notes with someone on the phone. And many of the latter variety have got injured, sometimes with fatal results, because while they were walking and talking their minds, thoughts and attention were elsewhere instead of being on the road and its surroundings and they were oblivious of any horns or dangers.