A casual phone call while driving, listening to your favorite track while crossing, casually messaging a friend while walking on the road. Did you know that these are some of the high tech paths to the "Bourne" from which no traveler returns?

Chennai's roads have been labeled a nightmare, with the city beating the capital hands down in the number of road accidents in 2007. With a dreadful 1110 fatal accidents in Chennai in 2007 alone, the motorists sure need to pay heed to every possible sign of caution . Two wheeler riders who are primarily the victims of road accidents constitute over 70% of the vehicular population in the city. Your lifeline lies in your hands, and quite literally!

According to a research conducted among drivers in Perth, Australia by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety , motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times as likely to get into crashed serious enough to injure themselves. The study also find out that injury crash risk did not vary with the type of the phone. With research quite furthering the opinion that cell phones may prove to be fatal if misused, we better start paying attention to the PSA's on the highways!

In the recent events in the city, misuse of cell phones has claimed several lives .recently a scene on the Cathedral Road, a two-wheeler driver with a heavy load tied on the rear seat, taking a turn on TTK Road, with only once hand balancing the vehicle , the other hand holding the mobile and the driver keenly engrossed in a conversation , and this scene is quite a common sight .

In several countries such as Japan the use of cell phones while driving has been banned completely. The study conducted by D.A.Redelmier and R.J.Tibshirani of the University of Toronto, involved 699 drivers who had cell phones and who were also involved in accidents. After analysis they concluded that the risk of accidents increased four-folds when the drivers were talking on the cell phones.

Mobile phones have indeed become more than a set of 12 keys which you hit to talk to someone during, say; an emergency .It has almost become an addiction of sorts."A part of our hand", as Amritha puts it .

However Arti Anand says that, "I personally don't feel that it's a big deal to use cell phones or listen to music while walking on the road as long as you are aware of your surroundings, and moreover listening to music helps you forget your problems temporarily, especially when your traveling alone".

What we need to perhaps realize is that we can control whatever is in our hands; we have a choice , to not hit the play button and listen to your favorite track , or let the phone play with your life!

S Asha