For those of you who haven't heard, celebrity plastic surgeon Frank Ryan supposedly was sending a tweet while he was driving when he lost control of his car and went over a cliff, killing him (his dog, who was with him, managed to survive).
I have to say that I don't understand this at all. Neither do I understand texting while driving (or putting make-up on, shaving, or any of that stuff). It's dangerous enough being distracted while driving, but also keeping your hand (or hands, even) busy? How is it not obvious that this would be dangerous? Yet it happens all the time.
"A recent report from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project found that 47% of adult drivers admitted to sending or reading text messages while driving."
WTF?
It just boggles my mind how people think sometimes. Your hand is busy typing those tiny little buttons. Your eyes are watching your screen to make sure you don't mis-type something because those buttons are so damned small. Your eyes are *not* on the road.
How do you not see the problem with this?
Cell phone use while driving is bad enough, because while your hand is busy (hopefully you've got voice-activated dialing), you can still pay attention to the world around you while you're talking (though more and more people *don't* do that, judging by the idiots I see driving around me on their phones all the time). But for texting/tweeting/whatever?
According to that survey, 47% of adult drivers are idiots. (Ok, given my driving experience, it's more than that, but you see what I mean). How anybody with even a shred of intelligence (not to mention sentience) can't see that driving when you're not looking at the road is a horrible idea, I have no idea.
I don't really follow celebrity gossip, so I have no idea who Frank Ryan is, other than what the stories are saying. He's obviously famous enough for his death to make the news. One would hope that a high-profile incident like this would jar some sense into some of these idiots.
Sadly, it probably won't, and Ryan will end up being just another statistic, though this time one with a reputation.
As society continues to head toward that same cliff...
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I have a couple friends who text & drive & I keep getting mad at them. But even with the dangers & deaths due to texting while driving, it still doesn't stop them....you know because "they're in control" & "they've been doing it for so long" & that "nothing will happen."
ReplyDeleteThey're only "in control" until the one time they're not.
ReplyDeleteI hope nothing bad ever happens to them, and I wish they would realize that they're putting their own lives in danger.
It doesn't sound like this is ever going to change, no matter how much "awareness" is raised by well-meaning people.
Thanks for the comment, Anahid! (Good to see you're catching up on your blogs :))
Very true! I get mad at them when I'm in the car with them & don't let them do it, but I can't be in the car with them all the time, you know? Besides, even if I could be in the car with them all the time, I'm not Omnipresent, so couldn't be in both cars lol.
ReplyDeleteNo, you can only do so much and, unfortunately, you can't run their lives (not that I'm an advocate for that kind of thing anyway).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're forceful about it when you're in the car, though. We want you kept safe.
I'm guilty.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm trying not to be. The only time I actually do this is when I'm on back roads... but I know, I'll stop.
Good reminder!
Yay!!!! If it can save just one person, then I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that, Duane.