THEY’RE STILL OUT THERE !
by John Del Santo
The laws have been passed, but we all know that making a law about something does not mean that folks are going to obey that law. The perfect example of this is the new law that prohibits drivers from using a ‘hands on’ phone or texting while they are driving. It would be a mistake for us to think that we are now going to be safe from these people while we are out riding.
In a recent poll 71 % of the people said that they still talk on the phone or text while they are driving. Seventy One Percent ! When California passed the “Hands Free” phone law, allowing people to use their ear-phones while driving, it did not make a lot of difference, because safety professionals are well aware that “It doesn’t matter what their Hands are doing, it matters what their Brain is doing”.
Using the term “Safety Professionals” I am not referring to some politician in Sacramento trying to pass a vote. I refer to people who have spent their whole life behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle, or who have spent their whole life instructing drivers on all types of vehicles. I know hundreds of men and women who fit this category, and I do not know a single one of them who believes that it’s possible to text or talk on a phone, any kind of phone, and still safely drive a vehicle of any kind. It can’t be done.
While we are out there riding, we still must make ourselves aware and alert and prepared for that driver at the next intersection to do anything totally unexpectedly. I was watching a program recently which pointed out that almost all new teenage drivers think that they can safely text and drive at the same time. If I let my child talk on a phone or text someone while they are driving, am I ready to accept the responsibility of the outcome of their actions ? A recent news story told of a professional tractor-trailer driver, who was on a cel-phone and drove into the back of a Big Yellow School Bus, because in his “Inattentional Blindness” he “didn’t see” this giant yellow bus. He pushed the bus for 200 feet before it burst into flames. I have two friends, who are two of the most intelligent people that I know who will swear that they can drive in a perfectly safe manner while talking on a phone. I really hope that they don’t have to become a statistic to find out that they are mistaken. We need to keep alert so that we don’t make mistakes, and we need to keep alert for those other drivers who are concentrating on their yakkity-yak with their friends instead of on what actions they need to take at the next intersection.
John Del Santo
mcbwaycool@yahoo.com
ABATE of California
