Cellphones are overrated as an emergency device. If you’re on a long car trip you could very well be in a zone with no coverage. Life threatening emergencies are usually over long before helped reached by phone arrives. One of my bosses really proved the long run uselessness of cellphones in emergency, he got one just in case he cracked up on his bike, well eventually he did get in an accident, and landed on the phone breaking it and getting a really nice bruise on his hip from it.
There’s nothing luddite about knowing you’re not a phone person and don’t need to be packing one around. For me it would be a completely useless expense. Even if I got a pay-as-you-go plan I’d still have to keep the stupid thing charged and with me to make zero phone calls.
On the other hand you might be in a zone that does have coverage. Without a cellphone you have no chance to call someone. And you might get into an accident and not break your cellphone. Without a cellphone you have no chance to call someone. You can choose to take your chances without one. I prefer not to.