I often find myself falling into the same routines that I rant at others for doing.
I don’t always wash my hands before I eat, though I try to. I don’t always brush my teeth in the morning right away. There is one thing, though, that I am completely adamant about, and this last week really helped to prove my point.
It started last Wednesday. I was sitting at the stoplight at Duck Street and Sixth Avenue. As I pulled onto Sixth Avenue, a young woman decided it was the perfect time to pull out in front of me. I managed to slam on my brakes in time, but what really aggravated me was what I saw after that.
She was eating a hamburger, miserably attempting to steer and talking on her cell phone.
Well, eating while driving is quite dangerous. I do my best to avoid it because it seems like an accident waiting to happen. But people have become so used to having their cell phones glued to their ears that they are too ignorant to realize how distracting their cell phones are.
Still fuming about the stupidity of the young woman, I continued driving west on Sixth Avenue until I passed Mazzio’s. This is where I lost it. As I braked to wait for a car to cross traffic, a little red sports car flew past me in the other direction. Again, a young female driver is talking on her cell phone, surely gossiping about what happened at the party the other night, or how mad she is her daddy won’t give her the money for that new handbag she saw on the E! channel.
What she apparently failed to notice was how the cars directly in front of her were at a standstill. After a terrible crunch, the girl was also at a standstill.
After these experiences last week, I began to pay more attention to how people drive, and I wanted to see if cell phone use affected their driving.
I noted longer braking times, wider turns, longer pauses before accelerating from a stop and general disrespect for other drivers on the road — for they used one hand to drive and one to talk.
I have answered my phone while driving, but my sense of awareness about driving actually increased because I knew what I was doing was dangerous. I also refuse to talk for more than 30 seconds or so, and ell the person I will call them back. For friends and family members, I often let the call go to voice mail.
If any of the aforementioned complaints apply to you, please pull your head out of your ass and look around. The world does not revolve around you and your cell-phone-impaired driving. You cause others to be placed in severe danger. Keep both hands on the wheel, keep your eyes on the road and pay attention.
As your driver’s ed instructor hopefully drilled into you, driving is a privilege, not a right. You had better thank God your mommy and daddy can afford to pay the tickets and car repairs that will result from your idiotic choices.
Loading ...
All Articles