WE TALK FOR 268 DAYS ON OUR MOBILE PHONES

LIVERPUDLIANS will spend almost 1 year of their working lives talking on their mobile phone, according to CPP, a leading life assistance organisation.  In that period, on average, we will make a staggering 95,244 calls, that is the equivalent of 6,433 hours on the blower.  This means, the typical mobile phone user chats for 268 days or just over 9 months of their working life. But not surprisingly, women will talk on their mobile for 2 months of their lives longer than men, according to the poll of 3,000 UK mobile users.  For some, the mammoth total will be even higher as we are so keen to chat on our mobiles – the average longest call lasts 42 minutes, with our partner being the person we natter to the longest.  However, despite a typical mobile user having more than 30 contacts stored in their phone, they will only speak to 8 of them on a regular basis.  And 64% of folk even admit to making up excuses to getting some callers off the line.  Over 16% say there is someone at the door and another 13% fake a low battery.  And it’s our own mothers who we are most likely to lie to, 20% of Liverpuddlians agreed mums are the trickiest to get off the phone.  Yet a fussy 64% have even completely ignored a phone call altogether as they didn’t want to talk to the caller.

But on the other hand, there are some folk who are so desperate to answer their phone they will do it anywhere.  Over 20% of Liverpuddlians admitted to answering their mobile while they are on the toilet and 33% will take a call while in bed. A fruity 4% have even answered the phone while ….making love!  So it is unsurprising almost 66% of Liverpuddlians think they would be totally lost without their phone.  But over 25% have already had to face being without their phone due to either losing it or having it stolen.  Yet a careless 55% have broken their mobile, with the most popular phone failure caused by dropping it, followed by flushing it down the loo.

John Walkley, Head of Mobile Phone Security at CPP Phonesafe said:- “The survey results prove just how much we like to talk on our mobile phones as a nation, although it’s astonishing when you look at the number of calls we make.  With the average handset costing in excess of £250 it’s important you have some form of cover, but make sure you have insurance that covers you for airtime abuse, multiple claims and theft, lost and damaged handsets, otherwise you may find that you have to foot the bill to carry on talking.”

Silliest insurance claims reported to CPP:-

1. A bird pooed on my window and the phone fell in a bucket of water – it’s the birds fault

2. A sheep rammed me in a field and crushed my phone

3. A thief stole it and hide it up his bottom

4. It was stolen by a magpie – I could hear it ringing from a tree

5. My two year old put it in her potty and wee’d on it

6. My rabbit ate it

BRITISH HOLIDAYMAKERS REDISCOVERING THEIR OWN BACKYARD

DESPITE the slow start to the British summer, the domination of low-cost airlines and discount packaged foreign holidays, over 30 million Britons will take at least 1 holiday in the UK this year according to latest research. 45% admitted that the desire to explore their own country rather than a foreign land will drive them to do so.

Kwik-Fit’s findings suggest that holidaying at home has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons: 34% said that staying in the UK was more convenient than travelling abroad, 31% said it was cheaper and 15% felt it was an easier option with kids. Reflecting Britain’s growing environmental conscience 9% said that staying at home helped to minimise their carbon footprint. A sun seeking 8% were lured by favourable forecasts from weather experts, while 7% cited fear of terrorism as a reason to avoid travelling abroad.  Research also shows that 76% of holiday-at-home Britons use their own car to travel, and despite increased pressure to go green this figure is likely to increase. Indeed motorists that said they were more likely to use their car to holiday in the UK today, that is compared with 5 years ago,  by a factor of 4 to 1.

This reluctance to give up the taking the car on holiday is perhaps a reflection that Britain’s public transport network isn’t yet seen as a convenient or cost effective green alternative to the car.  August is expected to be peak season for motoring holidays in the UK. In 2006 3.7 million holidaymakers took to the roads, putting an estimated 60,000 extra cars on the road per day. July and September both saw 2.9 million holidaymakers setting off while 2.1 million took a trip in June.

David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit, commented:- “It looks like growing numbers of Britons are planning to holiday in the UK, many of whom appear keen to rediscover the charms that this country holds.

With the car providing the major mode of transportation, Britain’s road network is likely to feel the strain again this summer.

Blowouts and batteries are often cited as the two most common reasons why motorists find themselves stranded at the roadside, both of which might well be avoided by a few simple checks before leaving home."

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