Distracted Driving

I made some silly driving-related mistakes in my youth, from driving with a suspended license (suspending for ignoring too many speeding tickets) to driving too fast in a snow storm (I once slid into an embankment at 15 MPH and, despite the moderate speed, still managed to flip the car over, Dukes-of-Hazard style.) Yes, with age comes maturity, experience and wisdom, and that's why insurance premiums get cheaper as we get older.

I've also learned -- the hard way -- how important it is to stay completely focused on the road at all times, with no exceptions.

About 18 years ago, when I was living in Queens, NY, I got into a minor fender bender which was totally my fault. I was distracted. I was trying to change the radio station on my car stereo, and ended up rear ending a minivan. I had taken my eyes off the road for the briefest of moments, yet it was long enough to precipitate an accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The accident would have dinged my driving record, and possibly caused my insurance premium to rise. However, no police report was filed. After pulling over, the driver of the minivan handed me $10 and took off. He probably either had no driver license, no insurance, or both.

My mistake didn't cost me much, but every day, people all over the world pay a much higher price for their distracted driving. Here's a powerful (and graphic) public service ad from the United Kingdom. The video serves as an extremely compelling argument against distracted driving (warning: the content of the following clip is very graphic. It contains scenes from a fictitious yet very realistic traffic accident.):



I watched the above clip on YouTube, and found the following comment from someone else who watched it:

"...I can watch the road while i text.. i have to glance away the same way u do when you change the radio station...."

In my opinion, the video needs to air in the USA during shows like American Idol and all those so called reality TV shows.

NBC's Today Show had the courage to tell everyone to watch the above clip, even though for some folks it may be hard to watch. Here's The Today Show's take on it:

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The Police Should Always Lead by Example

Earlier today, I was driving home from the supermarket and happened to pull up next to a police car at a traffic light. The cop driving the car was yapping on a cell phone. His windows were rolled up so I couldn't hear what he was talking about, but I assumed it wasn't a serious call, because he was doing a lot of laughing and smiling. When the light turned green, I noticed that this cop was still talking on his phone, while driving. I gave him a you-should-know-better look, then made a turn, which took me away from the police car and down a road near my home.

A few seconds later, I looked into my rear-view mirror to find that the same police car was now tailgating me. The officer hadn't done anything to signal me to stop. He was just following me very closely. I immediately recognized the game he was playing, so instead of driving to my place, I circled the block a number of times, being very careful not to make any driving-related mistakes. The officer followed, patiently and intimidatingly. Tired of this game, I parked in a parking lot far from my front door, and waited for him to make his move. Of course, he couldn't do anything, since I did nothing wrong, so he took off.

I do not regret giving that police officer that look.

For some years now, I've been hoping that cops get a lot more serious about cracking down on people chatting on the cell phones while driving, but based on my own anecdotal experience, it doesn't look like I'm gonna' get my wish. Yep: it's time to write a letter to the Mayor.

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