That has changed as prices have come down and marketing efforts have intensified, so that today cell phone ownership is not uncommon at almost every level of society.

While in the past a cell phone was seen as a luxury, people now view possessing one as a necessity. Nannies and housemaids need a cell phone in case of an emergency. Taxi drivers also equip themselves with mobile phones so their regular passengers can contact them for pickup. Nor is it unheard of for garbage collectors to bring their phones along with them as they do their rounds. In short, cell phones have become part of people's daily lives.

Given the very ubiquity of mobile phones and the important role they play in our lives, most people here have given very little thought to their potential dangers, beyond the issue of electromagnetic radiation. The most immediate danger of cell phone use comes from people who talk on their phones or send messages while behind the wheel.

Using a mobile phone while driving is common in Jakarta, with its traffic jams that mean most people spend hours a day on the road. Who hasn't been stuck behind a car meandering down the road, weaving from one lane to the next, only to find once you get past that the driver is engrossed with his or her phone?

Even more alarming are the motorcyclists who are able to make and take calls while driving.

This phenomenon started years ago, but it was only Monday that the Jakarta Police began considering a regulation prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving.

The early response to the proposal has been underwhelming. Several car owners said there was nothing wrong with using a cell phone while driving, while others said Jakarta's drivers would only give up their phones under threat of severe punishment.

Numerous countries, including Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines and Singapore, have prohibited talking on a mobile phone while driving. In Singapore offenders are subject to a maximum fine of S$1,000 and/or a six-month jail sentence.

A Jakarta-based tabloid once reported that most traffic accidents in Japan were caused by cell phone usage while driving. Which makes sense, because it is inevitable that talking on the phone will disturb the concentration of drivers.

In the U.S. a survey found the number of people using cell phones while driving rose in 2005. The survey, conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found 10 percent of the total number of drivers used a mobile phone while driving.

In Jakarta we do not have any official statistics on the number of traffic accidents caused by drivers using mobile phones. However, the Jakarta Police recorded 2,256 traffic accidents in 2005 with 597 people killed. Almost 1,200 of those accidents were caused by negligence, which would include using a cell phone. Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman has said authorities plan a survey to determine the extent to which mobile phone usage while driving contributes to traffic accidents.

But in the absence of any regulations specifically prohibiting the use of phones while driving, people will continue to chat away on the roads. It will not be easy to put an end to this dangerous habit, which is why the police must immediately begin introducing a prohibition. Then the authorities, in cooperation with the manufacturers and distributors of mobile phones, can launch an expanded public safety campaign on the dangers of driving under the influence of a mobile phone.

If and when a regulation is passed prohibiting mobile phone usage while driving, it will be up to the police to do the hard work necessary to ensure the regulation is enforced on the streets. The police will have to overcome a great deal of public skepticism, given the huge number of other traffic violations that go unpunished on a daily basis.

No matter how good a regulation or law, without proper and serious enforcement it means nothing.