Rant Warning: We have an intersection in our town that is apparently just a bit confusing. For out-of-towners, it is a challenge because there is NO stop-sign where they seem to want to find one....so they stop anyway. Well, that isn't so bad, but it is pretty frustrating when you are behind somebody who just decides to STOP.
But, the other day, as we were approaching this intersection--Market Square, is the name--a red Saab shot out of one of the places where there IS a stop-sign, completely out of synch with the flow of traffic, dangerously cutting off one car and seemingly oblivious to anything. As this idiot turned and drove past us, Abby said "Cell phone!!!", with a tone that said, "I knew it." The young blond driver of the Saab was deep in conversation and didn't even know that she'd almost caused an accident or cut through the square like a navy destroyer on a mission.
So, this is just the latest in a long string of observed incidents on my part, and Abby's. She wasn't surprised because it almost has become commonplace to see drivers do STUPID things in an unexpected fashion....and whereas you used to expect that somebody driving like that was drunk.....now it is a safe assumption that they are blabbing their god-damned head off to the little plastic device in their hand.
At this point, research has already shown that 'distracted' drivers--the formal term for this low level of performance--do about the same as drunks do. They are killing people and they are costing us billions in insurance and damages. Only 29 states have had the moral stones to make this foolhardy practice illegal...and I have some idea that the communications companies and their lobbyists might be able to tell why the others have failed their citizens by not stepping-up to do this.
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