Handsfree

My last post in this section has been a little while ago. This one is something I wanted to post a long time ago. This morning I was triggered to write this down, due to one of my road experiences. I drive a lot of kilometers on the Dutch highways (app. 70.000 a year) so I see a lot of things going on. This morning my attention was drawn to a van that had trouble keeping it's own lane. Sometimes it looked like he wanted to take a chicane, only there was none. Usually there are two sorts of explanations for this way of driving behaviour. One is too much drinking, the other is that the driver is doing something else (reading the newspaper, looking for something under the passenger's seat, or indeed: making a phonecall). The driver of the van made a phonecall, but not with a handsfree facility. He was holding the cellphone to his head. Despite the fact that you can get a ticket of € 136,- this doesn't seem to impress a lot of people. The chances of getting caught are not that high of course. Why, I ask myself. If you don't want to install or buy an expensive carkit, ok, but it's so easy (and far cheaper than € 136) to buy a handsfree headset.
What's even more surprinsing to me is that I ofter see drivers of expensive cars who don't use a handsfree facility. I think that most of these cars have an integrated handsfree facility, so use it! But no. What's their philosophy? Being reckless, nonchalant or just showing off ('who can hurt me, I have no problem to pay € 136)? About two years ago a young woman (19) was killed in a car accident on her way to work. Just a few kilometers from work she crashed into a tree. When she was found she still had her cellphone in her hand....