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No More Cell Phones While Driving
But What About Those OTHER Distractions?
When you are on the freeway, and suddenly see a car slow down (even if they are in the fast lane), you can rest assure the person is talking on the phone. On July 1st, California joined several other states that have banned the use of cell phones while driving. Drivers can use hands-free devices, but if you are under 18 years old, you can't use those either. This was bound to happen, but telephone use is just one of the distractions that cause accidents.
A few years ago, the mother of one of my patients was struck while crossing the street in a cross-walk by a person driving too fast and talking on a cell phone. According to witnesses, he continued to talk on the cell phone as she was lying in the street. Someone else had to call 911.
Kids are a big distraction for drivers. I have seen parents feeding a child who was unrestrained in the front seat. She would use her right hand to try and find his mouth with the spoon, as she drove 65 miles an hour down the freeway. Another time, I followed a weaving vehicle where the male driver was physically beating a kid in the backseat with his belt. The kid was jumping from side to side trying to avoid the flaying belt.
We had five kids and a dog, all stuffed in a mini-van. While on one of those Chevy Chase-type family vacations to Yellowstone, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. The only saving grace was that most of them fell asleep in the car, perhaps exhausted from all of that bickering. We would have to wake them up when we spotted a bison or geyser. I learned one of my most valuable lessons on that road trip. I learned that sugar-free candy can be hazardous to the driver.
Not wanting to zip them up anymore on sugar, I bought a huge bag of sugar-free Gummy Bears; nearly pure sorbitol - a sweetening substance with an odd side effect. Too much sorbitol causes flatulence (the medical name for farting). You have not lived until you try to drive in a van full of kids who are trying to out-fart each other. I can assure you that this was a major distraction to my driving. I am surprised that I even survived.
We all eat in the car; some of us more than others. The government has yet to ban eating or drinking in our own vehicles, but that, too, can be a driving hazard. Remember the guy that held a hot cup of McDonald's coffee between his legs while driving?
I used to spill so much crap on myself while driving, that I thought I would invent a commuter bib like that hard plastic one with a tray that we use on children. There are only a few foods that you can safely eat in a car without having the potential to ruin your clothing: Chicken tenders or McNuggets (without the sauce) and fries. I cleaned my car yesterday and found a few stray fries under the seat. You cannot safely eat a taco or any type of salad. Burgers with lots of sauce, slippery lettuce, and juicy tomatoes are among the worst distractors.
I love gadgets and my favorite gadget is a GPS. I love tracking my progress and punching in destinations of places I already know how to reach. A GPS on the dash is actually worse than a cell phone, especially if your near vision is not as good as it used to be. Someday, they'll have a voice-prompting GPS that tells you that you have just hit a truck.
Radios and stereos have gotten a bit better in cars now that some of the controls are on the steering wheel. More and more cars have video monitors to entertain the passengers, but you would be surprised how many people try to watch TV in their cars while they drive. It is illegal in most states for the driver to wear headphones that cover both ears, but I see this quite often. Those cars with huge speakers with the bass cranked up are definitely distracting to everyone other than the driver who seems to be enjoying his remaining days as a hearing person.
Watching other drivers - one of my admitted pastimes - is another hazard. Instead of watching the road 100% of the time, I find myself looking around at the other drivers. Many are picking their noses, singing, or looking at me to see if I am doing that as well. Occasionally, I am awarded by seeing a good-looking woman who doesn't see me looking at her.
For any male driver, an attractive female pedestrian is always a distraction. I was rear-ended once by a kid on a bicycle, distracted by some cheerleaders practicing. Perhaps I was at fault as well, since I was sort of looking at them, too.
If I spot a particularly bad or swerving driver, I tend to be curious as to their demographics: Is it a woman on a cell phone or putting on make-up? A guy reading a map? A teenager trying to text message a friend? An elderly woman with sunglasses? A guy beating his kids? A fat person eating a donut? Of course, he could also be a drunk. This can be a fun game on a long and boring trip, assuming they do not swerve into you.
Rubbernecking is a definite hazard to safe driving. Any car stopped at the side of the road automatically triggers the curious. Why has he stopped? Is it a flat tire? Was it an accident? If there is a police car involved, then the curiosity jumps to the highest level. We are so glad that he was caught speeding and not us, that we are actually happy. My wife became very excited one day with the driver was in handcuffs. That really peaked her womanly curiosity. I wonder what he did?
I have had a few flat tires in my time, reluctantly becoming the focus for rubberneckers. Many will slow down and see what I am doing; some will actually yell or laugh at me as they pass; and once, someone threw a cup of soda out of the window and tried to hit me. Nice. It is not bad enough that I have a flat tire. Apparently someone thinks I should be sticky, too.
Bumper stickers and vanity plates are distractions. I really enjoy clever bumper stickers, but it can be very dangerous to try and get close enough to read them. The same goes for vanity plates. It can be very distracting when you are trying to figure it out what they mean.
I can go on, but my point is that there are considerably more distractions out there than holding a cell phone in one of your hands. The first offense in California will cost you about $75; twice as much if you get caught a second (or third) time. I waited until the last minute to buy my hands-free adaptor, so they were out of them. I am too cheap to buy a Bluetooth device. I don't use my cell phone very often in the car, but sometimes it is important. I will try and be careful. I don't want the cell phone distracting me from my other distractions.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: driving distractions, cell phones, cars, health and safety
When you are on the freeway, and suddenly see a car slow down (even if they are in the fast lane), you can rest assure the person is talking on the phone. On July 1st, California joined several other states that have banned the use of cell phones while driving. Drivers can use hands-free devices, but if you are under 18 years old, you can't use those either. This was bound to happen, but telephone use is just one of the distractions that cause accidents.
A few years ago, the mother of one of my patients was struck while crossing the street in a cross-walk by a person driving too fast and talking on a cell phone. According to witnesses, he continued to talk on the cell phone as she was lying in the street. Someone else had to call 911.
Kids are a big distraction for drivers. I have seen parents feeding a child who was unrestrained in the front seat. She would use her right hand to try and find his mouth with the spoon, as she drove 65 miles an hour down the freeway. Another time, I followed a weaving vehicle where the male driver was physically beating a kid in the backseat with his belt. The kid was jumping from side to side trying to avoid the flaying belt.
We had five kids and a dog, all stuffed in a mini-van. While on one of those Chevy Chase-type family vacations to Yellowstone, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. The only saving grace was that most of them fell asleep in the car, perhaps exhausted from all of that bickering. We would have to wake them up when we spotted a bison or geyser. I learned one of my most valuable lessons on that road trip. I learned that sugar-free candy can be hazardous to the driver.
Not wanting to zip them up anymore on sugar, I bought a huge bag of sugar-free Gummy Bears; nearly pure sorbitol - a sweetening substance with an odd side effect. Too much sorbitol causes flatulence (the medical name for farting). You have not lived until you try to drive in a van full of kids who are trying to out-fart each other. I can assure you that this was a major distraction to my driving. I am surprised that I even survived.
We all eat in the car; some of us more than others. The government has yet to ban eating or drinking in our own vehicles, but that, too, can be a driving hazard. Remember the guy that held a hot cup of McDonald's coffee between his legs while driving?
I used to spill so much crap on myself while driving, that I thought I would invent a commuter bib like that hard plastic one with a tray that we use on children. There are only a few foods that you can safely eat in a car without having the potential to ruin your clothing: Chicken tenders or McNuggets (without the sauce) and fries. I cleaned my car yesterday and found a few stray fries under the seat. You cannot safely eat a taco or any type of salad. Burgers with lots of sauce, slippery lettuce, and juicy tomatoes are among the worst distractors.
I love gadgets and my favorite gadget is a GPS. I love tracking my progress and punching in destinations of places I already know how to reach. A GPS on the dash is actually worse than a cell phone, especially if your near vision is not as good as it used to be. Someday, they'll have a voice-prompting GPS that tells you that you have just hit a truck.
Radios and stereos have gotten a bit better in cars now that some of the controls are on the steering wheel. More and more cars have video monitors to entertain the passengers, but you would be surprised how many people try to watch TV in their cars while they drive. It is illegal in most states for the driver to wear headphones that cover both ears, but I see this quite often. Those cars with huge speakers with the bass cranked up are definitely distracting to everyone other than the driver who seems to be enjoying his remaining days as a hearing person.
Watching other drivers - one of my admitted pastimes - is another hazard. Instead of watching the road 100% of the time, I find myself looking around at the other drivers. Many are picking their noses, singing, or looking at me to see if I am doing that as well. Occasionally, I am awarded by seeing a good-looking woman who doesn't see me looking at her.
For any male driver, an attractive female pedestrian is always a distraction. I was rear-ended once by a kid on a bicycle, distracted by some cheerleaders practicing. Perhaps I was at fault as well, since I was sort of looking at them, too.
If I spot a particularly bad or swerving driver, I tend to be curious as to their demographics: Is it a woman on a cell phone or putting on make-up? A guy reading a map? A teenager trying to text message a friend? An elderly woman with sunglasses? A guy beating his kids? A fat person eating a donut? Of course, he could also be a drunk. This can be a fun game on a long and boring trip, assuming they do not swerve into you.
Rubbernecking is a definite hazard to safe driving. Any car stopped at the side of the road automatically triggers the curious. Why has he stopped? Is it a flat tire? Was it an accident? If there is a police car involved, then the curiosity jumps to the highest level. We are so glad that he was caught speeding and not us, that we are actually happy. My wife became very excited one day with the driver was in handcuffs. That really peaked her womanly curiosity. I wonder what he did?
I have had a few flat tires in my time, reluctantly becoming the focus for rubberneckers. Many will slow down and see what I am doing; some will actually yell or laugh at me as they pass; and once, someone threw a cup of soda out of the window and tried to hit me. Nice. It is not bad enough that I have a flat tire. Apparently someone thinks I should be sticky, too.
Bumper stickers and vanity plates are distractions. I really enjoy clever bumper stickers, but it can be very dangerous to try and get close enough to read them. The same goes for vanity plates. It can be very distracting when you are trying to figure it out what they mean.
I can go on, but my point is that there are considerably more distractions out there than holding a cell phone in one of your hands. The first offense in California will cost you about $75; twice as much if you get caught a second (or third) time. I waited until the last minute to buy my hands-free adaptor, so they were out of them. I am too cheap to buy a Bluetooth device. I don't use my cell phone very often in the car, but sometimes it is important. I will try and be careful. I don't want the cell phone distracting me from my other distractions.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: driving distractions, cell phones, cars, health and safety
12 Comments:
Very funny and accurate article. I enjoyed reading it very much!
Joking about a hazard that has been responsible for many crashes, and has killed and maimed other people isn't my idea of a helpful or civilized commentary. I'm sorry to be critical but I don't agree with laughing about the stupidity of other drivers. We need to smarten everyone up, take injury prevention much more seriously than this writer, and if that means taking away drivers' licenses, so be it.
All so very true. So sad that the human race have to be given rules, rules and more rules because too many do not seem to know how to apply common sense. Who has more sense the humans or the animals????
Great article. I enjoyed reading it very much.
How so very true. I got a kick out of this article, the way it was written, that is. I don't think the doctor was being a jokster! How about the couples you see fighting. As an ex-volunteer firefighter, a couple and her tots were killed crashing into a oak tree. Should'nt there be a ban on fighting too? I once saw a dude going down the highway looking at a girlie magazine. Until I got up along side of him, I didn't know why he was swerving. Now that's a real distraction...I called the CHP.
How so very true. I got a kick out of this article, the way it was written that is. I don't think the doctor was being a jokster! How about fighting while driving? As a ex-volunteer firefighter, a arguing couple and her tots were killed crashing into a oak tree. Shouldn't there be a ban on fighting too? I once saw a man going down the highway looking at a girlie magazine. Thats a big distraction. Until I pulled up in the lane next to him, I didn't know why he was swerving. I called the CHP.
To Buffalorose...
I love your girlie magazine comment. I think that is called AUTO eroticism!
Thank you everyone (sort of) for you kind comments. Yes, joking about a serious problem is not meant to be a joke. The world is full of people who make poor choices....stupid decisions...and yes, sometimes innocent bystanders pay the big price. I did a lot of stupid things in my life...and in cars.
We must learn from the mistakes of others....we do not have enough time (or luck) to do all of these mistakes ourselves.
ha ha, I agree very much so; I just turned 15 in june && well very so being drivers Ed; YAY! I think more and more teens and young adults should read this; They don't really know how much of a danger being on your cell phone or texting is; I'm really glad that they passed this new law, because it is a distraction; I don't think this DR. or PhD was trying to be funny; I'm not going to drive in a car with my cell phone ON, I will always keep it TURNED off;
Joking about fat people..?.......
What's with all the gawking at women! Can't you guys control yourselves? As if women enjoyed this or something...and cheerleaders?? This is why young women are the most victimized and objectified population of our society. Keep your eyes on the road and let us move around our communities in peace!
So true! I wish people would stop targeting cellphone users as being supposedly the only offenders out there, while they themselves do their makeup, fetch things off the floor, dig through their centre consoles, reach into their back seats, and heaven knows what else while driving (I had one rather frightening experience where I had to evade four seperate cars driven by people doing those first four things on the same road at the same time). Keep your eyes on the road, folks!
Very interesting article, have had my own close shaves especially when trying to send an sms once once and while gawking at a passerbye. In Nigeria more than half of drivers use their cellphones while driving, maybe that is why we see a lot of explained accidents. I dont like the bit about being happy when a fellow driver is distressed. We all should try to keep accidents out of our roads by behaving well while driving. Dr. Otonye danagogo in Omoku Rivers State Nigeria
Your point was very well made , we are bombarded by distractions while driving . I strongly believe in hands free tech , as hand held is both a physical & auditory distraction ,especially to new drivers ( teenagers ) . But i also believe that the general population should STOP accepting these studies as gospel , as they are as skewed to make their point as to be absurd ( another point I believe you were making ) .Once at the level of hands free the rest should be dictated by common sense . If the driver doesn't use or have this NO amount of legislation can fix the problem. That is the real problem .
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