Cell Phones ARE Dangerous - Breathing Space Blog

I've said it for years: talking on a cell phone demands your sharp attention and hence it is dangerous to employ a cell phone around vehicles. Now "indisputable" evidence confirms my observation. Steve Rubenstein in The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "A pedestrian apparently absorbed in a cell phone call was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in San Leandro today after he walked around a lowered crossing gate and onto the tracks."

"The victim, a man who was not immediately identified, was struck at 12:30 p.m. by a northbound Capitol Corridor train at the Alvarado Street crossing, about 8 miles south of the Oakland station... None of the 20 passengers or crew aboard the train was injured. That train and two others were delayed and another Capitol Corridor train was cancelled."

"Crew members aboard the Sacramento-bound train told authorities they saw the victim talking on the cell phone before he was struck, Graham said. The warning lights and gates at the crossing were functioning properly."