Driving While Distracted

I don't like to think of myself as one of those paranoid drivers who grips the steering wheel with both hands creating permanent handprints in the wheel while driving well below the speed limit just so my mind can process anything and everything that comes within view of the car. However, I am one of those drivers who believes in driving safely and getting to my destination in one piece. It seems though that there are other drivers out there who are of the school of thought that says that they will rely on the skills (or lack thereof) of other drivers to react to whatever they themselves wish to do whether it is changing lanes with no notice or driving God-awfully slow in the left lane.

Based on some of my previous blogs I think it's safe to say that bad drivers are really a dime a dozen but there is another sub-class of driver that I think needs to be called out and that's the supremely egotistical driver club out there that thinks that they are so skilled in the art of driving (and good driving is an art) that they can do anything and everything while driving and not put anyone in danger. Or so they think. Take for example the chap I saw this morning while on the highway. I was cruising along with the flow of traffic in the middle lanes when I noticed that cars were eagerly switching from the right lane to get around a car that was cruising along below the speed limit. I figured it was a distracted driver so I wasn't too surprised to see that this fellow (and yes... it was a guy) was reading a novel.

A couple of things flashed through my mind at that point as a steadily made my way past him. First was that perhaps he was a college student on his way to campus and was busy reading to catch up or freshen up on the last assignment so that he would be ready to answer any questions his professor may ask. I also couldn't help but think that he was someone somewhat like me in the sense that he can't ever pass up an opportunity to read. I have always been a voracious reader but I think I have become even more of one since my final few undergrad years. I used to read and read and read every moment that I got. I have never tried to read while driving on the road, let alone on the highway but I guess some people are just too fanatical about reading to pass up the chance. The final thought that passed through my mind was the fact that this fellow had obviously never heard of an invention that has been around for quite some time. Books on tape (or CD or iPod).

Now most people hear about how women will be driving all over the road as they put makeup on while driving and perhaps there is merit to their argument that they don't have the time to put all of it on while at home but still, what's the point in looking good if you're only going to end up on the side of the road with a ruined car and half-applied makeup? Still, as stereotypical as it is to point to women putting makeup on, they are also often guilty of reading or holding business meetings in cars that require multi-tasking. I think that also is a very sure sign of an egotistical driver.

Many people pride themselves on being able to multi-task and accomplish numerous things in a short span of time. I think it's something that is an asset to have in the office but not while driving; especially in heavy traffic. I was driving past a car the other day on the highway when I noticed that it was weaving rather heavily to the right and left. Everyone was giving the vehicle in question a wide berth and when I drove past I saw a woman in a business suit with a phone wedged between her ear and shoulder, briefing slides in her right hand, a cup of Starbucks in her left and she was driving with her left wrist, occasionally taking a sip of coffee (at least I assumed it was coffee and not a chai latte) as she made here way across all lanes of traffic. I'm sure her bosses would give her kudos for being so committed to the job but what good will it do anyone if she ends up in an accident?