Distracted Driving is in my top three pet peeves behind the wheel, if my top pet peeve. Accidents caused by distracted driving are so tragic, because they’re easily prevented. For phones, Bluetooth connectivity helps quite a bit, and the prices have come down, so I’m curious as to why it hasn’t become commonplace, even when states like Maryland pass Distracted Driving laws making it illegal to use your phone without being hands-free. Hopefully this new PSA by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) can start to curb the latest in in-car distractions. Click through the jump to see the videos.
Sure, people cried foul when Motorolas were introduced into cars, bringing the radio with you when you left the house. I’m sure navigation systems and any other gizmo automakers have added in the last half century have drawn their quota of ire from the purists. And they’re probably right. Heck, the Germans didn’t even introduce cup holders in cars until the mid to late 1990s, lest you be doing anything but driving while behind the wheel.
Between texting and navigation apps on phones, drivers sure have a lot of distractions available to them. The NHTSA implores you to put the phone down in this new PSA. I have to agree. I see a ton of distracted driving, and most of the time it’s quite dangerous to be anywhere in the vicinity of a distracted driver. Recently, I watched a woman who I presume is deaf, while she used FaceTime on her iPhone to sign to a friend of hers. When that call was done, she went back to texting. For 30 miles. I couldn’t get away from her, or I would have. I had to settle for glancing over occasionally to make sure she wasn’t going to hit me.
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Caution: This video is violent and may be upsetting to some viewers.
by John Suit
Source: NHTSA via YouTube