During my commute home the other day I saw another all too common episode
of lunacy behind the wheel. My commute is on urban highway, so I see a lot of indecision
and apparently dysfunctional self-preservation instinct. In fact, in my brief 7-mile
drive it is rare that I see fewer than 3-4 daily incidents of either myself or
someone in front of me falling victim to an unconscious motorist. Un-signaled close-call
lane changes, inexplicable braking (hallucinations, or maybe flashbacks) and extreme
tailgating. And no, that’s not a new reality show.
On that particular day traffic was heavy, but folks weren’t generally being
real aggressive. I usually drive close to the speed limit because I don’t want to
accumulate points. I have a CDL and also my teen years are sadly long gone. Because
of that tactic I have lots of opportunity to observe people as they pass me going
their otherwise regionally acceptable 70mph in a 55 (yes, really). I had seen this
car approaching in my left side mirror, but it never materialized in my side
window. A bit later it was dropping back into my mirror view again, and then
pulling forward once more and eventually flanking me.
After more of this back and forth passing game I noted that the young
woman operating the car was spending way more time looking down at her lap than
the road in front of her. She was oblivious to the cars stacking up behind her
or her lack of speed control, intent on whatever the tiny screen was showing
her instead. Typically I had only seen this level of smart-phone induced coma
at traffic lights. You know the deal; the light is green 8-10 seconds before
these people get a clue and start to move. And how dare we interrupt their reverie,
if we object.
So, my question; what monster have we unleashed with our newfangled
gadgetry? Just because cars are smarter than they used to be, should we be
stupider? Having worked in fleet for quite a while, I’ve had lots of opportunity
to interview those that have been in wrecks. Well over 90% of those discussions
revealed that some form of inattention was the root cause, either on the part
of the operator I was talking to or the other party involved. Sometimes both, the
“I didn’t see him coming” syndrome.
And that is the point I drill down to. If you don’t watch the road, how
can you possibly react quickly and decisively to the traffic maneuvers of someone
else that isn’t paying attention either? Should all cars just have those wrap-around
bump-cages like recreational go-karts at the track, or would waiting 5-10
minutes to return a text or stare at your Facebook feed really kill you?
Certainly not waiting can kill you, or someone else. How about we just put the
phones down so we all get home alive tonight. Simple enough.
©
2016 D.W. Williams
