Different distraction

[Stichill_imp]

^ I'm not familiar with Georgia, but that's how it was in Virginia 35 years ago. Have to admit that in my misspent youth, we drove around with an Igloo Playmate full of cold ones. I've got a picture of a buddy and me stopped for gas and there are two Old Milwaukees sitting on the dashboard.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Old Milwaukee - now that's a beer I have not had since the summer of 2002.

Yeah, when I saw cans fall out of vehicles when the driver's door opened (I thought I was watching a movie in real life!), that 's when I started speaking to local Georgians about the acceptance of drinking and driving. Indeed, some things are different in the south. I don't know if injuries are better or worse compared to other regions in North America, but it is a different community approach.

[Gone in 60]

Auto makers have gone to some pretty far lengths to keep us from having to fiddle with our phones while driving. Connectivity in the past few years has become very impressive. I travel for work frequently, so I'm always driving different cars which are all newer than my own. These days, I can get into a newish rental car I have never seen, and within five minutes, I've got my phone synced up, my contacts downloaded, streaming my favorite music, and I've got verbal and visual GPS navigation to my hotel.

I can make phone calls, send and receive texts, and update navigation without taking my hands off the wheel, or my eyes off the road. As others have mentioned, I think it's just a matter of boredom. We're being pelted with multiple forms of communication constantly these days. Sitting in a car and just driving it somewhere is boring. We need to be doing something else at the same time, all the time. Whether it's eating, drinking, watching a video, or whatever else.

Heck, I'm not immune to it. My ride to work is a 15 minute commute. I still need something else going on in that short time, so I have an earbud playing the news in the background. Six times out of ten, most of that ride is just a bunch of commercials which I can mute out, so maybe I get five minutes of news. If I'm driving a truck cross country, I'll download a bunch of documentaries on my phone, so I can listen to them while I drive. I knocked out the whole Ken Burns WW2 series on a trip to Indy earlier this year, and his national parks series on the way home.

[redbirds_imp]

Living in rural Georgia I can tell you that DUI is a major problem. The roadside litter of beer cans is proof enough. Worse I think is the problem of opioid addiction; it's a major crisis here and in most of the country. Over prescribed drugs for depression also. Meth is another peril and those on it can be dangerously unpredictable.

[Houtman_imp]

America is a very addictive society .

[GoldOxide_imp]

Auto makers have gone to some pretty far lengths to keep us from having to fiddle with our phones while driving. Connectivity in the past few years has become very impressive. I travel for work frequently, so I'm always driving different cars which are all newer than my own. These days, I can get into a newish rental car I have never seen, and within five minutes, I've got my phone synced up, my contacts downloaded, streaming my favorite music, and I've got verbal and visual GPS navigation to my hotel.

I can make phone calls, send and receive texts, and update navigation without taking my hands off the wheel, or my eyes off the road. As others have mentioned, I think it's just a matter of boredom. We're being pelted with multiple forms of communication constantly these days. Sitting in a car and just driving it somewhere is boring. We need to be doing something else at the same time, all the time. Whether it's eating, drinking, watching a video, or whatever else.

Heck, I'm not immune to it. My ride to work is a 15 minute commute. I still need something else going on in that short time, so I have an earbud playing the news in the background. Six times out of ten, most of that ride is just a bunch of commercials which I can mute out, so maybe I get five minutes of news. If I'm driving a truck cross country, I'll download a bunch of documentaries on my phone, so I can listen to them while I drive. I knocked out the whole Ken Burns WW2 series on a trip to Indy earlier this year, and his national parks series on the way home.

When I ride and drive, I watch humanity. I am a people watcher, always waiting for their next dumb a** move.

[Cormanus]

Perhaps it would be better to watch the road and traffic?

[Gone in 60]

Didn't anyone tell you, Cormanus? The cars do that for you now.

[GoldOxide_imp]

The age we live ... in.

[Cormanus]

Didn't anyone tell you, Cormanus? The cars do that for you now.

Never. I suppose you’ll tell me next you can start them without a crank.