Vermont lawmakers are considering a measure that would ban eating, drinking, smoking, reading, writing, personal grooming, playing an instrument, "interacting with pets or cargo," talking on a cell phone or using any other personal communication device while driving. The punishment: a fine of up to $600.
I occasionally will take along my drink after having a quick sandwich at lunch but I tend to only sip when I'm at a traffic light or when the traffic is light enough that I feel safe with such a distraction. I've never been fond of eating a sandwich or anything else while driving, and personally I just don't understand people who apply makeup or do other personal grooming activities while driving. I find it embarrassing that we even need to have such laws under consideration. Apparently we do.
"What finally pushed me over the edge was when I was at a stop sign and somebody opposite me was trying to navigate around the corner with a cell phone to the ear in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and she wasn't doing very well," said Republican state Rep. Thomas F. Koch.
He said his wife recently saw a driver playing the flute, which led him to include the instrument ban in his bill.
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Distracted drivers were involved in nearly eight out of 10 collisions or near-crashes in a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute that was released last year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Young drivers are some of the worst offenders. A study of more than 5,600 students released last month by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Co. reported that nearly 90 percent had seen friends drive while talking on cell phones and that half saw drivers playing hand-held games, using listening devices or sending text messages.
I don't even have the patience to send a text message on my phone if I'm sitting at my desk!
Question of the day: What's the most absurd thing you have ever seen someone do while driving?
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