Distractions While Driving
There
is much talk of stiffer sentences for people involved in accidents if they are
distracted while driving; the main culprit here being the mobile phone.
Strangely enough, while banning hand held mobiles, they still allow hands free
mobiles. In the days when using a mobile phone was legal I have dialled out on
such a mobile. I don’t have a problem with this because I could hold the phone
up and see where I was going at the same time as I dialled. I did buy a
hands-free kit but to try and dial on something stuck to your dashboard is
suicide, you cannot see the road at all while you are dialling, it’s as
dangerous as staring at your speedometer so you don’t break the limit. Who is
it that thinks up this rubbish?
In
reality the whole idea of not being distracted while driving is also rubbish.
Probably the biggest distractions while driving, speedometers aside, are
signposts; either that or the scenery, oh and what about sat-navs. The unwanted
truth here is if you cannot drive safely while being distracted, you shouldn’t
be on the road. Most drivers are on autopilot when driving, especially when in
slow speed limits when they are bored out of their brains. A person with an
active mind cannot look at a very slow moving white line without nodding off.
This is a very real danger to mundane driving. By and large these drivers are
safe, it’s the people who need 100% concentration to drive who are a menace.
Their minds work very slowly and their reactions are none existent.
Another
sore point is that a driver who is considered distracted is automatically
blamed if involved in an accident. That is simply wrong. Distracted or not it
could well be the other guy’s fault. I certainly don’t agree with texting on a
mobile phone while driving, that is as dangerous as you can get. Mind you I
never saw the point in texting, full stop.
While
I have been writing this book there has been concern on the news about the
motorcycle swerve test. To pass the test you have to ride very, very slowly
between a few bollards (31mph). Many people have been injured since this test
was introduced a few weeks ago and it is said the test is too dangerous. A
lady lorry driver was explaining how she was injured because of the difficulty
of the test. I just hope she doesn’t get on my tail in her juggernaught on
the motorway.