The domino bird effect

Nov. 16, 2009
I've been doing a lot of interstate driving of late, visiting shops, and I figure I must have somehow missed hearing about the federal mandate...
I've been doing a lot of interstate driving of late, visiting shops, and I figure I must have somehow missed hearing about the federal mandate that if you drive on an interstate highway, you must do something in addition to driving while behind the wheel, preferable talk on a cell phone, check your e-mail on a handheld device, do text messaging or use an in-cab satellite communication devices.   It was very rare for me to spot someone just driving.   A lot has been made of distracted driving, especially the contribution of mobile communication devices.   Driver distractions are nothing new. You may be interested to know that they've been a topic of discussion since windshield wipers were introduced in cars during the early 1900s.   Distractions take away a driver’s attention to the all-important task of driving. This lack of focus increases the likelihood of accidents.   Inattention inhibits a driver's ability to react to what’s going on ahead and around them.   Nowadays there are many more distractions. Aside from communicating while mobile, we eat and drink behind the wheel, perform grooming functions, read, make to-do lists, fiddle with the CD player, CB or two-way radio, ad nauseam. But bird watching?   A recent mishap occurred in La Marque, TX, which is about 35 miles southeast of Houston, that involved a bird, a cell phone and a million-dollar sports.   A man told police he was driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when a low-flying pelican distracted him, which caused him to drop his cell phone, which caused him to reach to pick it up, which caused him to veer off the road, which caused him to drive into the salt marsh. The car settled half-submerged in the brine.    While common sense can’t be dictated, it’s high time that we minimize ALL distractions and focus on the safe driving. Oh . . . and don't become mesmerized with birds.

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