Post by webrunner on Nov 15, 2009 23:00:54 GMT -7
Ouisa D. Davis: Cell-phone drivers put others at great risk
By Ouisa D. Davis / Special to the Times
Posted: 11/13/2009 12:00:00 AM MST
Here's an image for you -- a woman in a tattered blue truck, yelling into her cell phone (held incredibly by her right hand to her left ear), smoking a cigarette with her left hand (with which she also allegedly steers her car), careening across two lanes of traffic toward the passenger side of my almost brand-new car during rush hour on I-10.
As I veered onto the shoulder to avoid the near hit, she mouths me an epithet, tossing a little of the venom she is sharing with her partner-in-conversation.
I had to laugh at the silliness of it all -- after my heart stopped racing.
And, as I ended up next to her in the daily traffic jam near Viscount, she turned and apologized to me, explaining that she had a bad day at work.
It would have been a lot worse if she had smashed into my car, I guarantee you.
I am continually fascinated at the various cell-phone conversations I have observed while driving to and from work in the morning. Mind you, traffic is usually heavy at those times since most people are also on their way to and from work.
There's the woman in the SUV who, while chatting with her compadre, applies mascara to her eyelashes, balancing the cell phone on her shoulder.
Or the sloucher-guy who lounges across the front seat of his F-150, steering with a couple of fingers of his left hand, right elbow propped on the divider in the front seat, cell phone to ear. And of course, he's going 80 mph.
Give us a break
Of course, we have the teenager who, while sharing his music with us, is either sending a one-handed text message (where do they get the dexterity?) or scanning his contact list deciding which one of his honeys will receive the benefit of hearing his voice at that moment.
Oh wait, that's a grown-up man in a midlife crisis car.
Then, on the way home from work, we can always watch the soccer mom who, with two DVD screens going on in the back seat to keep the kids quiet, weaves in and out of traffic, too entranced in her conversation to pay attention to the surrounding cars.
And, lest we forget, the "I'm Very Busy And Very Important" person who wheels and deals while on the way to the next Very Important Meeting, taking notes with one hand, holding the cell phone with the other.
I've even seen a motorcyclist darting in and out of traffic talking on his cell phone -- without a helmet, no less.
And all this with the new rule banning the 18-wheelers from the fast lane and the resultant bobbing and weaving through traffic to get around them.
Please, don't wait for someone to pass a law. Get a hands-free device. They're not that expensive (prices range for $19.99 to $149.00) and are very easy to use.
Then, you can have your can't-wait conversations, grocery-list exchanges and arguments without endangering the rest of us.
Or better yet, limit your cell-phone use to emergency conversations while driving.
Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. E-mail: Ouisadavis@yahoo.com
By Ouisa D. Davis / Special to the Times
Posted: 11/13/2009 12:00:00 AM MST
Here's an image for you -- a woman in a tattered blue truck, yelling into her cell phone (held incredibly by her right hand to her left ear), smoking a cigarette with her left hand (with which she also allegedly steers her car), careening across two lanes of traffic toward the passenger side of my almost brand-new car during rush hour on I-10.
As I veered onto the shoulder to avoid the near hit, she mouths me an epithet, tossing a little of the venom she is sharing with her partner-in-conversation.
I had to laugh at the silliness of it all -- after my heart stopped racing.
And, as I ended up next to her in the daily traffic jam near Viscount, she turned and apologized to me, explaining that she had a bad day at work.
It would have been a lot worse if she had smashed into my car, I guarantee you.
I am continually fascinated at the various cell-phone conversations I have observed while driving to and from work in the morning. Mind you, traffic is usually heavy at those times since most people are also on their way to and from work.
There's the woman in the SUV who, while chatting with her compadre, applies mascara to her eyelashes, balancing the cell phone on her shoulder.
Or the sloucher-guy who lounges across the front seat of his F-150, steering with a couple of fingers of his left hand, right elbow propped on the divider in the front seat, cell phone to ear. And of course, he's going 80 mph.
Give us a break
Of course, we have the teenager who, while sharing his music with us, is either sending a one-handed text message (where do they get the dexterity?) or scanning his contact list deciding which one of his honeys will receive the benefit of hearing his voice at that moment.
Oh wait, that's a grown-up man in a midlife crisis car.
Then, on the way home from work, we can always watch the soccer mom who, with two DVD screens going on in the back seat to keep the kids quiet, weaves in and out of traffic, too entranced in her conversation to pay attention to the surrounding cars.
And, lest we forget, the "I'm Very Busy And Very Important" person who wheels and deals while on the way to the next Very Important Meeting, taking notes with one hand, holding the cell phone with the other.
I've even seen a motorcyclist darting in and out of traffic talking on his cell phone -- without a helmet, no less.
And all this with the new rule banning the 18-wheelers from the fast lane and the resultant bobbing and weaving through traffic to get around them.
Please, don't wait for someone to pass a law. Get a hands-free device. They're not that expensive (prices range for $19.99 to $149.00) and are very easy to use.
Then, you can have your can't-wait conversations, grocery-list exchanges and arguments without endangering the rest of us.
Or better yet, limit your cell-phone use to emergency conversations while driving.
Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. E-mail: Ouisadavis@yahoo.com
www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_13773824
I'm torn on this issue. Like everyone else, I've nearly been hit by someone on the phone (and the other day, I actually got stuck behind a bicycle rider who was on a cell phone) but I don't really want a law passed banning cell phone use while driving. I figure there are any number of distractions that happen while driving and a cell phone is no worse than anything else (except I'll concede that texting while driving is really hard to do).