You might lose your phone, but it’s not that simple. You can also lose your life — or at least endanger it.

There are a lot of things that can happen if you don’t hang up your phone. The most obvious one: You could get hit by a car while crossing the street, or hit someone else, who may then sue you for damages.

If you’re driving, you could get into an accident because you were distracted by the call from your friend or boss who wanted to know what’s up with that report that’s due tomorrow morning. Or maybe you’ll just fall asleep and drive off a cliff (true story).

But it goes beyond just safety issues and potential lawsuits. There are also legal consequences for refusing to hang up at appropriate times. For instance, if an emergency situation arises while you’re on the phone and you don’t put down the device to help out (or at least call 911), that’s illegal — as is being on the phone while driving any other way than hands-free (and even then, some states still ban it).

Last modified: August 2, 2022