Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Cell Phones and Driving
Yes, I know this topic has been beaten to death, dissected and then pulverized, but I have an observation that I believe to be a new spin on the issue. Oh, by the way, I remembered what my rant was and this is it, although it isn't much of a rant than an interesting observation while running/walking/biking. I started this on the date above, but now it is 8/20. I got really really busy and now I finally have some time to finish this.
First, people walked around with cellphones. It seemed like a neat and nasty invention. Neat in that one could contact anybody from anywhere, and nasty in that anybody could contact you at any time. Then, some company developed these earpieces, which made the cellphone users look like they were talking to themselves, or more embarrassingly, to you. At about the same time, more and more people started driving cars and talking on their cellphones simultaneously. One handed. But it doesn't end there.
Recently, I have had the pleasure of running lots and lots of miles on roads. On these runs, I usually share bike lanes with bicyclists. They are nice and don't run over me, and I try not to take up the entire lane. Give and take. Do you see where this is going? Well, about a month or so ago, I saw a bicyclist holding a cellphone in one hand, and the handlebars with the other. I thought that was a stupid person anomaly, but since then, I've seen at least 3 people on bikes talking on their cells! One handed steering and braking and weaving a lot, of course. Wacky! So, I just try to stay as far away as possible, but really, can't they stop and talk?
First, people walked around with cellphones. It seemed like a neat and nasty invention. Neat in that one could contact anybody from anywhere, and nasty in that anybody could contact you at any time. Then, some company developed these earpieces, which made the cellphone users look like they were talking to themselves, or more embarrassingly, to you. At about the same time, more and more people started driving cars and talking on their cellphones simultaneously. One handed. But it doesn't end there.
Recently, I have had the pleasure of running lots and lots of miles on roads. On these runs, I usually share bike lanes with bicyclists. They are nice and don't run over me, and I try not to take up the entire lane. Give and take. Do you see where this is going? Well, about a month or so ago, I saw a bicyclist holding a cellphone in one hand, and the handlebars with the other. I thought that was a stupid person anomaly, but since then, I've seen at least 3 people on bikes talking on their cells! One handed steering and braking and weaving a lot, of course. Wacky! So, I just try to stay as far away as possible, but really, can't they stop and talk?
