Driving Business

OPINION: Being stuck in a traffic jam can be very frustrating for all sorts of reasons, but none more so than if you value your time and run a busy business.

As progress marches on, time pressures seem to increase.

If you can return your calls or make new ones you don't feel like the time has all been wasted? Plus there's emails and txts too, just the thing to do while you're crawling in traffic, late for work.

So how dare the lawmakers stop progress, if they are going to take away our opportunity to do business whilst driving, they might as well make us walk in front of our cars carrying  red flags so people know that the cars are coming, and give way to horses at the same time.

I guess it will be a boon for the phone companies and the sale of hands free kits, though the phone stores seemed to have been a bit slow to catch on to the real business opportunity. A chance to sell "fries with that" with earpieces, cradles as well as the kits. Plus a surprising lack of knowledge of the new law, and inadequate stock with limited choice. And the law is now in full force.

It's always surprised me that it takes a law change to save lives. Are people really that shallow that the threat of an $80 fine will change the habits of all but the totally irresponsible? Why people needed a law change to know that txting and emailing whilst driving was criminal; the cost of killing and maiming should have been deterrent enough.

Funny what people will try to justify in the pursuit of business.

So sure, do those catch up calls, but do it within the law, and leave the emails and txts for more considered responses when you are back in the office.

Perhaps being better organised will stop all of this nonsense. Cell phones are still a relatively new phenomenon, especially the email aspects. We managed to drive before without all this stuff.

The economy will no doubt be better off, with the saved cost of fewer accidents and deaths. The cost to the health system of treating people, the costs of having people and vehicles out of the work force, or the accidents making thousands of people late for work. Maybe all this progress and convenience stuff was false economy.

Oh and there's the emotional side of death and accidents. It's not all about the business; so lets' keep it in perspective.

Adam Davy is Managing Partner of the Wellington Office of BDO.