Stowing your phone may save your life
Alexander Heit, a 22-yearold college student with good grades and a quick wit, was driving in Greeley, in the US state of Colorado, when he decided to reply to a text message on his phone.
“Sounds good my man, seeya soon, ill tw ... “
We don’t know the rest. The message was interrupted by a crash. Heit died.
While the young man was distracted, he drifted into oncoming traffic, according to the International Business Times.
On my cycling trips around Beijing, I often think about the many tragic cases like Heit’s that I’ve read about in my home country over the years.
I am astounded by the number of my fellow cyclists,
This Day, That Year
ItemfromAug11,1998,in ChinaDaily:TheChinaSecurityRegulatoryCommission establishedaspecialtask forcetosolvepossibleyear 2000computerproblemsfor exchangesandbrokerages.
Withthemillenniumbug threateningcomputersystemsworldwide,thecommissionhopestospeedup effortstosolvetheproblem inthesecuritiesandfutures industry.
With the growing popularity of the internet, cyber attacks and data breaches are becoming more frequent, and also scooter riders, who I see not only carrying on phone conversations but also reading text on their phones. Their heads are down, eyes transfixed by a small luminous screen, oblivious to the world they’re rushing toward.
Of course, the faster you’re going, the quicker a distraction can become a tragedy.
Studies show that staring at a cellphone for 3 seconds while driving at 60 kilometers an hour is as dangerous as driving blind for 50 meters, according to Xie Caifeng, a fellow at the research office of Shunyi court in Beijing, writing in a column published by China Daily last year.
Xie wrote that official statistics showed that “the use of cellphones while driving was the top reason for traffic accidents leading to death in Zhengzhou, Henan province”.
It is also illegal. According to the national traffic code, it is illegal to use hand-held invasive and devastating.
The latest one, in May, was the ransomware virus WannaCry affecting more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries and regions. It encrypted data on the computers, demanding payments of up to $600 to restore access.
The National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/ Coordination Center of China had found 2.42 million IPs in the country were attacked and the number of infected IPs reached 35,000 within four days. phones while driving, and an offender can lose points on their license and receive a fine of up to 200 yuan ($29.75), Xie wrote.
Penalties are one deterrent, but education and social pressure also are important.
Two years ago, the Shanghai office of the media company Havas designed a campaign for the Global Road Safety Partnership using 350 smashed cellphones that had been in the hands of people who had died while texting in China, showing their last words.
They were mounted on black slabs like gravestones as part of an installation for Road Safety Day in 2015, which was made into a film, SMS Last Words.
It showed heart-rending last exchanges like this one:
Driver: Don’t worry, I’ ll be home quickly. Mother: OK, waiting for u!
As technology has spread across the world, the mobile
On June 27, an emergency response plan was released for internet security to improve handling of cybersecurity incidents and to prevent and reduce damage.
In the same month, the country’s first Cyber Security Law came into effect to secure cyberspace and protect citizens against data theft.
In March, the country issued its first strategic report on cyber issues — The International Strategy of Cooperation on Cyberspace phones that are a communications miracle have become the equivalent of a loaded gun when in the hands of distracted drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Alexander Heit died back in 2013. By now, he would be 26, possibly starting a new job or business, maybe engaged to the love of his life.
After his death, Heit’s parents issued this statement: “In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you.”
So, please, put the phone away, or stop when you use it if you must. The risks are just too great.
Contact the writer at matthewprichard@ chinadaily.com.cn
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— aiming for jointly building a community of a shared future in cyberspace.
It said enhanced defense capability in cyberspace is an important part of China’s endeavors to modernize its national defense. It also said China, as a victim of hacking, opposes all such activities and regards them as illegal.