Saturday, May 22, 2010

"Get off the goddam phone!!"

I said it so many times in the car yesterday.

To the woman in the S Class Mercedes who came this close to sideswiping me. She was probably scheduling her pedicure.

To the college students who ignored the nearby crosswalks. Evidently no one had taught them to Stop, Look, and Listen. No, wait—they were definitely listening. And talking. They were probably discussing who gave who the eye in the cafeteria, and why their Spanish teacher should be shot.

To the teenagers in the car with the blasting stereo. How can they possibly hear anything over the hip-hop?? Or maybe they weren't trying to hear. Maybe they were just talking.

To the hefty woman who wandered out of the dollar store and into my path. No doubt she was in a hurry to tell her BFF about the incredible bargains she just scored.

To the obese man who pinned the phone to his ear with a shoulder as he drove, steering with his left hand and gesturing with his right. Did he close the big deal? I, for one, hope not.

And there were more. Lots more. All this urgency is pretty amazing, when you think about it. I'm old enough to remember when people didn't have so many important phone calls that couldn't wait. I wonder what the traffic accident stats were back then . . . ?

5 comments:

Mali said...

I agree! I've seen so many examples of bad driving (or road crossing) from people talking on their cellphones. NZ finally made it illegal to talk on your phone whilst driving (unless you have a full hands-free kit) late last year, but I still see people on their phones doing stupid things. And yet they think they're not a danger.

As you can see, this gets me angry!

Sabine said...

Illegal in Ontario too, though I still see lots of people doing it.

Susan said...

I don't think the hands-free option helps very much (although a lot of places seem to rely on it when passing their laws--in the US, too). I know it wouldn't help me.

I love to drive, and I can listen just fine while I'm driving (audio books, passengers, radio). But I avoid telling any sort of anecdote or responding in an involved fashion because I quickly lose my concentration on the road. And that's when I'm not even on the phone. I'm a pretty good multi-tasker in other situations, but not driving. I'm sure I'm not the only one like this.

Glad you're back, MM!

Indigo Bunting said...

Aaaargh. This stuff makes me crazy. Thank you for venting.

crystal said...
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