Distracted Driving
Back in the good ol' days there wasn't much to distract you. The radio in the truck usually would only pick up country western channels on the am side, we didn't have CB's until the late 60's and no mobile phones.
Now however the phones are as bad as drunk driving. And the silly thing is the Government in it's ultimate wisdom made it illegal to hold the phone in your hand if your driving a truck but you can use handsfree devices to carry on your conversation while trying to negotiate rush hour traffic.
The problem isn't holding the phone so you have to drive one handed, It's being involved in the conversation to the point that your not concentrating on what's going on around you !
it's being involved in the conversation at all.
I know that many people think they can multi-task and do two or three things at once equally well but-----
They are wrong !
Just test it some time. If your on the phone while driving, pay close attention to the conversation and after you hang up try to remember your surroundings while you were on the phone, like what you passed on the side of the road or how many cares passed you in a mile, what song was playing on the radio, things that would have registered in your mind had you not been engaged in a conversation.
That is why it doesn't register that you may have changed lanes unsafely or you probably slowed or sped up without even knowing it, while other motorist adjusted their driving to keep from having a problem with you're erratic driving.
I not only see a lot of people talking or worse texting [were they take their eyes of the traffic in front of them] but see them putting on makeup, brushing their hair, tuning the radio, adjusting their cloths or a myriad of other things that could cause them to loose that split second of stopping time to keep them from that accident that could take their life or someone else's.
What really bothers me is seeing truck drivers doing it when it's so much harder to change lanes or slow down rapidly to avoid a wreck of a serious nature.
I was taught to keep your eyes moving from out the windshield to each mirror so you can know what is happening around you all the time, always have an out, and pay attention to what the 5th vehicle in front of you is doing and react to him and you will be one step ahead of the rest.
Until Next Time, KEEP ON TRUCKING
I'll try to share pictures of some of the trucks I've driven as I write about the events.
