A couple of weeks after I bought a new car, I was driving around, running errands, when my car started ringing. It was the strangest sensation, as though someone had plopped me down inside a telephone. After a moment or two, I realized it must be part of the GM Onstar feature on my new vehicle. Fortunately, my teenage son was with me, and he, much more technologically savvy than I, quickly found a button on the review mirror which enabled me to answer the call.

Sure enough, it was an Onstar representative, checking that I was familiar with the features and ready to answer any of my questions. Ready, too, of course, to sell me any additional services I might be interested in.

My gut reaction was to turn her down. In fact, during that initial conversation while driving, I did. But then I thought about it for awhile. I conduct a lot of my business—personal and professional—while driving. Many of us do. Mobile technology enables us not to feel quite so frustrated with traffic jams and long commutes. At least our time isn’t wasted if we spend it catching up with friends, scheduling appointments, following up on work requirements, or even calling ahead our take-out Chinese order.

However, I do also have teenagers. As they make their first forays behind the wheel, one of my cardinal rules is this: no talking on your cell phone while driving. I’m way too leery that their attention will be divided when there are so many aspects of traffic that they ought to focus on. And even though I’m confident that a couple of decades’ worth of experience makes driving more intuitive for me, I’ve never been a believer in the "do as I say, not as I do" form of parenting.

Therefore, I did invest in the handsfree car kit available for my new vehicle. If I’m going to set an example for my kids, I shouldn’t be doing my driving with one hand on the wheel and one up to my ear. And you know what? I’ve discovered that I do have more attention for the road, and that it’s a good thing to have both hands free when traffic takes an unexpected turn.

I’ve had to readjust my mindset many times as vehicles have evolved, referring to them as cars, wagons, vans, SUVs, crossovers, or hybrids. Now, no matter what its size or shape, since I tend to do as much talking as driving, I can simply think of my vehicle as my mobile telephone!