A couple of years ago, I promised Merrie (AB6LR) that I would write about an experience I had, so I could share it with all the Pasadena Radio Club members. It was one of those things that always happened to other people, but never to me.

Are you dangerous when you go mobile? Should you be afraid of me when I take ham radio on the road? You're OK, I'm OK. It's just those idiots with their cell phones that we have to watch out for, right?

I'm an above-average driver (as ninety-nine percent of us are). In thirty-five years of driving, I had not a single accident, "good driver" insurance rate, you know the drill. On my way home from work one afternoon, I was talking on my hand-held radio to a friend when the repeater started acting up. I asked him to go to simplex before we got out of range. As I was making that changeover, BANG! - it seemed as though a firecracker went off inside my car. I was dazed! Then I realized that the car was stopped, and there was a dark object in front of me, sinking slowly into a heap as some sort of smoke arose from it. What the heck was going on? Gradually I realized that the object was my car's air bag. I had just driven right into the back of another car, which was waiting for a traffic signal.

How could it have happened? It was a clear day, I wasn't speeding, and nobody had pulled out in front of anybody else. There was only one complicating factor -- My attention, and my eyes, had been on my hand-held radio.

It still amazes me to realize how complete my distraction from driving must have been. It appears that I drove at least half a block without seeing the red signal or the stopped car in front of me. The driver of the other car was uninjured, even though I had pushed him into an intersection. And as fate would have it, his birthday was that very day. What a rotten thing I had just done to him!

Don't let me preach to you. I'm simply saying that you and I and every ham who uses a radio while driving should make a personal examination of the risks we face - and be willing to change the way we operate.

For many of us, the mobile radio is just too important to do without. Therefore the name of the game is Reduce Your Risk. Driving requires seeing, hearing, thinking and acting quickly. There are many ways a radio could interfere with these.

Simply listening to the radio has a cost in dividing your attention and your ability to hear your surroundings. Copy getting difficult? More concentration goes to the radio.

Being part of a QSO ups the ante -- a lot. It makes much greater demands for attention, puts the mic in your hand and your hand in front of your face. Is your multi-band radio set to transmit on the same band you are listening to? Your eyes must go away from the road to see.

Need to adjust the radio's controls? That's what I was doing when I proved that my air bag and seat belt would work. Want to QSY to another frequency? That's easy for a guy at a base station, but risky for a mobile operator. Think about it before you ask another mobile ham to adjust his radio.

Driving conditions come into play. Traffic becomes heavy, darkness falls, streets are unfamiliar, the rain begins. It's your turn to speak. Dead air! That's OK, don't lunge for the mic. People will understand if you can't respond right away. Perhaps it's time to get off the air or else pull over to finish the QSO.

There is no rule book for mobile safety. Each individual must take time to think about the risks. Make some personal rules for what you will or won't do with a radio in the car. Amateur Radio is a hobby, but driving usually isn't. There is enough time for each.

All I suffered for my foolishness was being bruised where the seat belt had held me and a small welt on my lip where the air bag slapped my face. My car was fine, too -- after $4200 in repair work.

There's no getting around the fact that a hand-held radio being used as a mobile is not as safe as a regular mobile unit. Thinking of buying an amplifier for your handheld radio? I promise you the result won't be as satisfactory as a real mobile installation. It may not even be cheaper. Talk to a friend who has used both types. A permanent installation is safer than something that sits on the seat or console. A permanent antenna installation beats something hay-wired through the door or window. Putting the radio's display up high lets you keep your eyes on the road. Eliminate loose wires.

But even the safest design you could buy is not a substitute for the simple decision not to let the radio interfere with your driving. Every radio has an off button. Make a conscious decision about the risks you take.

Sometimes I think about what could have happened that day. On the corner where the accident happened is a public library. Children cross through the very spot where I pushed the other car. I consider my experience to have been a near-miss -- and a near-miss can be a gift. Such a gift needs to be used, so I'm sharing this one with you. I hope you will use it -- in good health.

-John, AC6VV