a little and a lot

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Get Off the Phone and DRIVE

New pet peeve and it peeves me to no end:

Talking on a mobile phone while driving.  

I admittedly am hypocritical at times regarding this peeve.  I, myself, have and occasionally do talk on the phone while driving.  I tell myself that I am exceptional at this skill, although I recognize in reality that I am not. 

(I would like to note that I found this picture on Flickr--it is not taken by or of myself.  Translation: I do not have man-hands/arms, nor am I still dressing myself in shirts from 1992.)

Phone drivers are in abundance.  In fact, I would wager that most anyone reading this blog has and may continue to engage in this act.  But phone drivers are ALWAYS, and I am not exaggerating, ALWAYS the cause of my frustration on the road.  When someone is driving too fast, too slow, cuts in front, leaves their blinker on, fails to use their blinker, almost runs into other cars...you get the picture...all of these people are not talking on their phones, BUT all people talking on their phones are the perpetrators of these acts.  

Mothers in Suburbans/Minivans (Newsflash: Driving a Suburban is just as "mommyish" as driving a Minivan.  Do you think you look cooler with your 3 soccer ball stickers with each kid's name on your Suburban?).  Businessmen in shiny sedans.  Teens in newcarthattheywillwreckwithin2months.  They are all offenders.  

People, I beg you, it is time to get off the phone and drive!  

This is not impossible.  10 years ago, most people had to pull over to the side of the road to use a pay phone to talk to another human being.  (Either that or pull over so they could use both hands to lug their giant Zac-Morris-phone out of their bags.)  We got by just fine back then, didn't we?  

Solution?  If someone calls you while you are driving, DON'T ANSWER.  I realize this is absurd for people who are so addicted to either their mobile phones or to people/approval or to their jobs--these people would never dream of NOT ANSWERING a call.  But it is possible.  After all, this is what used to happen when you weren't home and someone called your landline.  (Why do those still exist, by the way?)  As soon as you get to your destination (or if it's an emergency, as soon as you pull over to the side of the road), you may chat to your heart's delight.  But while you are driving in front of, beside of, or behind me, please issue the courtesy of...driving.

I am giving the same challenge to myself. 

Don't even get me started on people who order at the drive-thru while talking on their phones, people who interact with cashiers inside a store while talking on their phones, or people who sit in restaurants/coffee shops/airplanes yapping away, unaware of the disturbance of peace to those around them.  

I love technology.  I love gadgets.  But I do not love the monstrous way they turn us into absent-minded, inconsiderate people.  We would all do well to be a little more aware and "present" in our surroundings.  Amen and amen.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

i think the main problem is really the texting nowadays...?

clay said...

when i read your blog, i was nodding my head and agreeing to this indeed is a problem in our world today...then it happened! i became a hypocrite. not only was i answering/dialing the phone like crazy, but i was texting! shame on me for being a part of the chaos. thanks for your challenge.

Jesse Faris said...

Leslie, I disagree. While texting & driving at the same time is an absurd thought and obviously perilous, I think the prevalence of talking on the phone while driving is just as dangerous. Only one hand for driving and your mind is distracted...recipe for disaster.

How many times have we been talking on our phones and realized:
we missed (or have almost missed) our turn
we were accidentally veering into another lane
we didn't realize the light was changing
we were unable to maneuver our car through a parking-lot or other tight spots one-handed?

Clay, aren't we most vehemently against the flaws we find in ourselves? I know I am! (Hence, this post!) Another action in addition to texting that keeps me absend-minded at best: making sure the best song possible is playing through my car stereo on my iPhone. Ugh, I disgust myself. :)


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