I’m as guilty as the next person when it comes to distracted driving. My list includes: talking on the cell phone, offering my children snacks and activities, looking at maps, changing the radio, and glancing around at the mountains. Taco trucks catch my attention, as does anyone selling roadside peaches.
I’ve even been tempted to text while driving even though I know it’s illegal and stupid. I know of people who use services that disable their phones while they drive. I see the rationale; I sometimes stash my phone out of reach because I’m so tempted by it.
Although research suggests that people actually drive more slowly when they use a phone, arriving 2 minutes later than those not using phones, it’s still hard for me to resist dialing and driving. Phones make car-time feel efficient. Especially when I’m tired.
This is, perhaps, the problem with getting behind the wheel of a car. We know we’re supposed to just focus on what’s in front of us, but when do we ever do that in a day? We, Americans, and particularly, the parent segment of Americans, multi-task everything. It’s the only way we ever get anything done. Or so we believe.
So, when we’re placed behind a wheel and supposed to just stare at the road ahead, it takes an inordinate amount of effort to just drive and not do anything else. Believe me – I’ve tried coffee, singing, deep breathing, opening my eyes really wide, and wearing sunglasses. I’ve even tried imagining all of the accidents that might come of my distracted driving.
Yet, nothing shook me awake faster than almost getting my 3-year old, my 7-month old, and me crushed last week while crossing the street. We were on our way to school. A car had stopped for us in the crosswalk. We were starting to cross when a truck pulled passed the stopped car and flew through the intersection. The driver, who was on his cell, never even noticed that he was within inches of wiping out a family.
“My God,” I thought, “that could have been me.” What if I had been the jerk flying through an intersection? Or worse what if I had killed someone?
My concern is not in vain. A recent series of articles on the subject in the New York Times revealed that drivers using phones are 4 times as likely to crash as those not on phones. That likelihood is on par with someone who has a .08 alcohol level in their blood, the point at which drivers are considered intoxicated. Each year, drivers using cell phones cause 2,600 traffic deaths.
But what’s to be done about this phenomenon? Cell phone subscriptions have gone up 8-fold in the past decade. Laws requiring hands-free devices don’t seem to help; there has been no decline in the accident rate since the laws passed. Besides, enforcing those laws are difficult. Police are not required to ask about phone use while investigating an accident.
It seems the situation will only change when we start limiting ourselves. That’s easier said than done. Even with all of these statistics, and my own near accident last week, I still use my phone while driving.
I need to change, I know. I don’t want to become a part of the growing number of people who injure others with their distractions.
Yet, how to we stop ourselves from multi-tasking? Ignore the children in the back? Ignore the roadside peaches? Turn the phone off? Yes, yes, and yes.
And if that seems like too much, perhaps, we should try disregarding just one of those things. We’ll still arrive at our destinations. As a bonus, we’ll be relaxed and alive. Besides, as yoga reminds us, when we are happy and calm, we encourage others to be the same. Who knows? I’ll try if you will.
Emily Brendler Shoff (ebshoff@gmail.com) teaches and writes in Telluride. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
