Texting & Driving Or how to have a head on collision in one easy lesson!
Just yesterday I was driving down my street (in a car), which is not a terribly big or busy street, thank goodness, when I noticed a motor bike approaching me and veering to my side of the road. I slowed my car to almost a stop, but the bike kept heading toward me and wouldn’t you know it, he no idea I was there, his full attention directed toward his phone.
Being the evil prankster that I am, I delayed warning him off by sounding my horn, and let him get close enough to almost collide so that he got a really big shock before I sounded off.
“Sorry, sorry”, he said as his front tire bumped into me. “I didn’t see you!”
Indeed how could he with his eyes focused firmly on his all important phone?!
I am sure that this has happened to most of our readers at some time or another. I hope that you were not the one texting, and I hope that you were not traveling at high speed, and I really do hope that no one was killed or injured in the collision.
I hope that you did not lose your child, brother, sister, mother, father etc. like my friend did.
Studies by driving institutes of drivers texting inside their vehicles shows that the risk of accident sharply exceeds previous estimates based on any laboratory research — and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions. Compared with other sources of driver distraction, texting is in its own universe of risk. In fact you are TWENTY FIVE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT IF YOU TEXT WHILE DRIVING.
In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices — enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field.
In some countries even having a mobile phone in your hand while driving is illegal, let alone trying to type or read a message, or even surf the net! It will be a long time before laws in this country will catch up to this danger or even effectively enforce it (noticed how helmet / seat belt enforcement has become very relaxed lately?)
Unfortunately young drivers are at the top off the list as offenders and accident victims where mobile phones or even i-pods are concerned. They are texting constantly (on average of 2,300 messages a month apparently!). They do it late at night, they do it in restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their thumbs hurt. It is difficult to concentrate on anything let alone driving when there is something next to you is vibrating every couple of minutes.
If you really think that you cannot wait to read/send that message, or take/ make that call, or set the song-list that you want to hear on your Ipod, PULL over carefully, and park in a SAFE location while you attend to your phone/cyber/music business. Wait for a reply if you know that one is expected. Finish the conversation and explain that you are driving and cannot continue to interact. Then get back into the traffic and try very, very hard not to be distracted again. With the way the traffic jams are heading up in Bali you will have plenty of time to attend to your phone at those loooong traffic light queues!
