Looks like I spoke too soon in my recent posting on safety. I just found this excellent White Paper from the National Safety Council that should really get some of your always-in-demand attention, and soon, especially if you think it’s OK to talk on a phone, hands-free or not, while operating a motor vehicle. The evidence is clear and the arguments, as far as I’m concerned, are now over. We now need to decide upon appropriate penalties for those who do damage of any form while talking and driving. I think these should be harsh so as to set an example to discourage this kind of behavior. Yes, all of us who run small mobile businesses are really, really, busy, and time management is critical. Multitasking, assuming your brain is wired so as to enable it, is a good thing. But our first duty, as businesspeople and especially as citizens of a civilized nation, is to the fundamental safety of each other. Successful civilizations are built on an ethic of trust. It’s time to reaffirm this ethic by banning the use of mobile phones while driving. Period, again.