We got another rude awakening lately about the lethal mix of cars and cell phones.\u00a0 Apparently, even the use of hands-free devices significantly compromises safety on the road, perhaps by falsely reassuring drivers that they\u2019re not distracted.\u00a0 Talking on the phone while behind the wheel is roughly equivalent to a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level (the threshold for drunk driving), and quadruples one\u2019s chances of getting into an accident.\u00a0 Yikes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tempting to launch into a lecture here about how we all need to stop multi-tasking.\u00a0 But do lectures really work when the behavior is so\u2014well, addictive?\u00a0 Instead of the appalling decision of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to withhold the data about the dangers of hands-free devices from the public, we urgently need sane legislation and public agency involvement to tackle this problem.\u00a0 But we also need to understand just how enticing the behavior is.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing wrong with multi-tasking as in listening to string quartets while unloading the dishwasher while walking a crying infant around the kitchen.\u00a0 Not a totally present-in-the-moment practice, but our culture so embraces this kind of efficiency that most people find it nearly impossible to resist combining activities.\u00a0 On the addiction continuum, this kind of \u201crecreational juggling\u201d is analogous to social drinking.\u00a0 Responsible use.<\/p>\n
But what happens when more! quicker! better! gradually becomes a habit, and the heady delight of balancing compatible tasks morphs into a dangerous compulsion?\u00a0 As Marilyn Monroe said in Some Like It Hot<\/em>, \u201cI can stop anytime I want to.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t want to.\u201d\u00a0 We can\u2019t be easily talked out of the driving\/cell phone combination any more than kids can be convinced with a wagging finger not to binge drink.\u00a0 That\u2019s why states should make it illegal to drive while engaging in non-emergency phone chats, and heavily fine drivers who get into accidents that way.<\/p>\n As for me, I\u2019ve convinced myself that I\u2019m cautious because I\u2019ve been dialing only at red lights (my cell is too old to be compatible with Bluetooth, and I\u2019m way too cranky about the planned obsolescence of the cell phone industry to upgrade).\u00a0 I\u2019ve been using the speaker phone, reasoning that it\u2019s the same as having a passenger with me (it isn\u2019t).\u00a0 I don\u2019t text, and I consider myself to be very cautious and aware of distractions.<\/p>\n But what\u2019s so urgent in my life that I can\u2019t pull over for a few minutes if I need to talk?<\/p>\n Clearly we\u2019re on our own here.\u00a0 It was officials at the Department of Transportation that urged the NHTSA to keep the cell phone\/driving research under wraps for years, until public advocacy groups finally succeeded in forcing the release of this crucial information.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Ford Motors\u2014ever the visionary leader\u2014has been working on a way of letting drivers use phones, access music and surf the net with voice control.\u00a0 Seriously, I couldn\u2019t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n Sorry, family and friends, I won\u2019t be talking to you while driving anymore.\u00a0 Oh, and I\u2019m keeping my outdated phone.<\/p>\n Published in the Piedmont Post<\/em> July 29, 2009<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We got another rude awakening lately about the lethal mix of cars and cell phones.\u00a0 Apparently, even the use of hands-free devices significantly compromises safety on the road, perhaps by falsely reassuring drivers that they\u2019re not distracted.\u00a0 Talking on the phone while behind the wheel is roughly equivalent to a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[45,46,47,48,49,50],"yoast_head":"\n