End of the road for highway phone boxes

We don't remember the last time we saw one of those highway emergency phones that used to be ubiquitous at the side of the road. Turns out there's a reason (other than our tendency to drive so fast that the roadside is a fuzzy blur): they're being phased out by many states, which have been spending a fortune to maintain them, even as cellphone-equipped drivers have all but ceased using them. In Rhode Island, the cost-per-call had crept up to about $7,000 when the state got rid of its call-boxes last year. Parts have also become hard to find;
Louisiana bought old boxes from Minnesota for parts when the latter state stopped using them a few years ago. Of course, in sparsely populated states where cell towers are widely spaced, the boxes could be a lifeline if you're stuck. If you do a lot of driving in rural areas and don't want to risk being out of range, you may just want to go retro, good buddy, and install a CB radio in your car.

[Via Gadgetopia]