I was shocked reading that on my laptop while I was driving to work! Hey, just kidding. I do not take my eyes off the road even for a microsecond. Which brings me to one of my major pet peeves (also read other Things that tick me off): there is nothing more annoying than watching a movie where a character, driving on a highway, is staring at a passenger - and not just for a brief second, but sometimes for ten or more seconds. How can anyone remain unfocused on the road for so long?

Are directors that stupid not to realize that ten seconds on a highway is one-sixth of a mile? Don't they realize that they are teaching bad driving habits? I would never tolerate being a passenger in a car where the driver took his eye off the road for one second. I would insist that they pull over and let me drive.

Because we live in a more and more distracting world, I have no doubt that within a few years almost every state will soon ban cell-phone use altogether while driving along with extremely strict licensing requirements for teenagers and the elderly.

So dear reader, if you know anyone who drives distracted, text him this article right now. Oh, wait - do it when you know he or she is not driving.

Notes

(1):

nj.com, N.J. may ask police to link crashes to distracted driving

Police in New Jersey might have to note whether a driver was distracted before having an accident.

A bill before an Assembly committee today would require officers to check a box describing the type of distraction. The list includes hair grooming, eating, changing the radio, reading, attending to a pet or using a fax machine.

The bill bars insurance companies from using the information to increase policyholders' rates.

The state Transportation Department would compile an annual report.

(2):

nj.com, N.J. police have issued 225K citations for cell phone use while driving

police have racked up 224,725 citations for violating the law in the 23 months since the law has been in effect, officials said today. That’s about 4 percent of nearly 5.4 million total moving violations — not counting drunken driving offenses — in roughly the same time period, according to state judiciary statistics.

...

Cranford Police Chief Eric Mason, first vice president for the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, said the law, which includes a $100 fine, has been a deterrence.

"Is it at a point where it should be? No," he said. "We still see too many people abusing the law."

There are indications the problem of distracted driving has not lessened.

A July survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University shows mixed progress. Fewer drivers are talking on handheld phones while driving — 80 percent said last year they never or rarely do it, up from 71 percent in 2007.

But texting shot up from 15 percent to 21 percent. With texting particularly popular among younger drivers, the problem is increasing, survey analyst Dan Cassino said. Fifty-seven percent of drivers under the age of 30 said they text while driving.