I'm amused at your presumption that all hams have a mobile ham radio and spend a great deal of time in their car.

Actually, I am amazed/amused at the number that don't. Nationally, the average person spends what, 45 minutes a day in their cars commuting...?

And if we are to fulfill our radio service mission, are we not all supposed to be prepared to comunicate in emergencies? So it has always been a surprise of mine that some very active hams in fact do not have an FM rig in their car... I'm not saying they need to use it, but It seems that it would be good preparation to have one, at least an HT in the glove box. I guess it is the boy scout legacy to be prepared. But then today, that means having a cell phone, not a ham radio....;-)

On the otherhand, I can admire that many people do in fact have another life besides ham radio too.

I now drive to and from work, purposefully not on any commuter repeater. But my APRS position report always shows what frequency I am monitoring so that I can be called if needed. Family communications also plays a big part, and so monitoring a normally quiet repeater makes contact easier. A brief satellite pass is also fun sometimes.

This is just my current state in life. It will change. So I do not in anyway suggest any judgement on others use of Ham radio or lack thereof. I actually longingly remember 20 years ago when I actually did have some time to play radio while doing something other than commuting...

And the empty nest is less than a year away...

Bob, WbAPR