Stop or I'll Dial!

This boggles my mind:

A survey of 305 students at one campus found that 40 percent of cell phone users said they walked somewhere after dark that they normally wouldn't go. A separate survey found that about three-quarters of students said that carrying a cell phone while walking alone at night made them feel somewhat or a lot safer.

"Students seem to feel less vulnerable when they carry a cell phone, although there's no evidence that they really are," said Jack Nasar, co-author of the study and professor of city and regional planning at Ohio State University.

"If anything, they are probably less safe because they are paying less attention to their surroundings."

Folks, I carry a gun to most anyplace I am legally allowed to. Even when I do, you won't see me darking the doorways of a shady establishment or a dark alley.

Here are some questions:
--Do you feel safer going someplace if you have a cell phone? Why?
--Given that a great response time has help arriving in five minutes, what do you do while waiting?