What do you do while driving that you shouldn't?
Posted at 6:00 AM on July 22, 2009
by Eric Ringham
(12 Comments)
Filed under: Culture, Transportation
We've all seen it: Drivers sending text messages, drivers putting on makeup, drivers eating breakfast or talking on the phone. Federal officials are concerned about the role such distractions play in traffic accidents. If you're driving right now, please wait until you get where you're going, but then we'd like to hear your confession. What do you do while driving that you shouldn't?
Twitter! Ha! -@AaronWillard
I put on my make up -anonymous text message
Play scratch off's -anonymous text message
I can change clothes as i drive down the highway in a 30ft dock truck -anonymous text message
Um text. Like right now. Sorry :( -anonymous text message
I surf the web & watch youtube on my phone while driving. right now i am texting while driving -anonymous text message
Comments (12)
I curse ,,, other drivers.
I sometimes get rides to out of town doctors appointments from a community transportation service. One of their drivers has his left arm amputated at the shoulder. All well and good, he still has the right arm to steer with. Except he likes to talk. A lot. And when he talks he gestures. After a few anxiious moments the first time I rode with him I realized he was steering the car with his Left Knee!!.
I don't.
I had the misfortune to be involved in a 5 vehicle fatal accident caused by a distracted driver. Her distracted driving ended up knocking my vehicle and one other into the path of an oncoming semi. I have permanent injuries, the other driver died at the scene, and the girl who caused the accident had charges filed against her. A lot of people's lives were changed forever in just a few seconds.
Whatever you think can't wait...trust me, it can.
Usually I just drink pop or eat a breakfast sandwich from the drivethrough on my way in to work, which is easy because Hiawatha is often a parking lot. Many times though I finish the sandwich before driving - the older I get, the more I realize just how easily someone's life could be changed forever by a momentary distraction and I don't want to wake up in the morning and remember that I caused something like that.
I hand things to and take things from to my 2 year old in the back seat. I open snack containers, and retrieve wipes. I would like to think it's not as bad as cell phone use (I don't have one) but it probably is.
I have stopped using my phone altogether while driving because drivers using phones are 4 times as likely to cause a crash as regular drivers. Every day I strive to take my responsibility as a driver seriously and remember that everyone on the road around me is someone's brother, sister, father, mother, etc.
To show my support for mindful driving, I'll be at Purgatory Creek Park on Aug. 1 for the second annual Raksha Walk, a campaign and fundraiser for distraction-free driving. The walk is hosted by the Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation, a Minnesota-based organization founded by an Eden Prairie family after they lost their 19-year-old to distracted driving.
For more information on the walk visit www.shreyadixit.org.
I'm not sure if drinking coffee counts; however, since it generally requires me to remove my eyes from the road, I guess it's a distraction.
Listening to MPR is - of course - a delight. Until some raving lunatic gets on the air. Yeah, sure I realize you need to interview them because they're part of the story because they run the world. But, man, nothing incites road rage like listening to willfully ignorant peons blabbing about something that's wrecking my life.
Did you know there's some legislator in Texas who's trying to make it illegal to use a cell phone, texting, etc. ... and drinking coffee? I think I'll avoid Texas. Although you might find it interesting to compare population density to banning cell phones in the car.
I used to be like many other teens and young adults--texting while driving, worrying about the music (radio, CD, iPod, or otherwise), eating or drinking while driving, among other things that distracted my driving.
But, on Nov. 1, 2007 my friend Shreya was killed at the age of 19 by a distracted driver. Now I work in her memory through a memorial foundation to end distracted driving on our roadways.
Just think how many lives could be saved if everyone focused on DRIVING while behind the wheel of their vehicle.
I talk on my mobile all the time, which I noticed distracted me all the time. So I got a hands free bluetooth for my mobile and now I notice that I pay more attention while driving. My brain must have shut down when my hand and phone went to my ear. I hate when people are on there mobiles and the more they talk the slower they move...get out of my way!
I drive with one hand on the horn and the other out the window flipp'in the bird. Hang up the phone and get out of my way.
Since I got a new job and started comuting almost 50 miles a day my driving has become distracted. Spending 1.5+ hours on the same road each day leads to me talking on the cell phone, eating, playing around on my iPod, and even doing my nails while driving.
Since I started listening to MPR more on the road my habits are better. MPR keeps me interested enough that I don't need to distract myself with other behaviors.
I used to text - but then I got an iPhone. I used to talk while driving, but then I neglected to see a cop when I was speeding.
Now I occasionally have a cigarette, eat a sandwich or drink a soda - and I haven't been in an accident or gotten a ticket since.
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