I don’t know about you but I’ve see some wacky things as I am out and about, driving the roads of Northern Kentucky. However, what I saw a day or so ago, ranks right atop the SILLY METER.
Here’s the setting:
I’m in Hebron, waiting for the signal light to change for a turn onto I-275 East from North Bend Road, Route 237. For those who don’t know, it’s a two-lane turn.
Beside me, a lovely young female driver is texting and applying makeup, virtually at the same time. I have many skills; however, but that bit of ambidextrousness (yes, I looked it up) has evaded me.
Anyway, the signal changes and she hits the gas like the proverbial bat out of hell. I keep pace because I am interested in seeing how or if she will negotiate the next few moments.
I know she applied mascara to each eye, lipstick, and cheek blush and twice hit buttons on her cell phone. Having seen enough, I decided the prudent thing to do was get the hell out of there. By Noah’s standard, I am still a babe in the woods and I thought, if I continued to follow, I might risk my hope for few more blithe tomorrows.
But wait, there’s more spice in this stew. As I moved along, since my car sat higher than hers, I happened to notice she was steering with her knees. Yikes! As lovely as her knees were, I couldn’t take any move. I survived and I hoped she did, too.
I’ve seen men shaving and tying ties. I’ve seen teenagers exchange seats. I’ve seen people in a clinch (I fail to see how that beats Sinatra and soft lights). I’ve seen an old codger brushing his false teeth. The young woman, in my mind, takes the cake.
It got me thinking about the statistics.
According to www.textinganddrivingsafety.com at least 23 percent of accidents (1.3 million crashes) in 2011 involved cellphones. When texting and driving, a person’s attention is distracted for at least five seconds, at 55 mph that is the length of a football field. When you text in a car, you are 28 times more likely to get in an accident. Sadly, 55% of young adults say it’s easy to text and drive.
But wait, there’s more! Nearly half of young drivers have seen mom or dad texting as they drive. The same amount have been passengers in cars when people text.
And here’s a spike, one in five people surf the web while driving! Surf the web? What for? Stock quotes? Directions? The next jam? A tasty burger?
Then there is this tidbit from www.essilorusa.com, “Putting on make-up while driving, along with any other distracting activities, doubles the reaction time a driver needs to be put their foot on the brake.”
I hope the young woman I saw made it to her destination that day. Had I been able to get her license plate, I would have asked one or more of Kentucky’s finest for an assist.
Why didn’t I? You ask.
I did not because it was snowy and windy and rear plate was covered with snow.
I hope she reads this and I hope she knows how lucky she was that day.
My advice, add the commitment of never texting and driving to your bucket list, especially if you hope to live as long as Noah.
Don Then is literary editor of the NKyTriune and an accomplished writer and editor. He occasionally weighs in on important issues of the day.