Monthly Archives: August 2009

Hang up the phone and drive

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The most dangerous thing that most of us do on a daily basis is get behind the wheel and drive. Not only do we have to watch out for our own driving, we have to watch for other drivers out there. Yet many of us make the task harder by knowingly distracting ourselves by talking on the phone.

I’ve read a few articles over the past few weeks and listened to a few interviews that impressed on me that talking on the phone, regardless of using a hands free device, is incredibly dangerous and needs to be stopped. Most of us know this, yet many of us do it.

I’ve often thought of the time in the car as wasted time, using that time to call clients or to catch up with friends. My car has a bluetooth system that Ford offers called Microsoft Sync,  it allows me to hands free dial and talk through the stereo system without having a phone to my ear. But it’s not the act of having a phone by your ear that’s dangerous, it’s the lack of focus. A few years ago I was on the phone with a friend I hadn’t talked to in awhile; I had my headset on, no big deal right? I drove past my exit on the turnpike and ended up being late to my client meeting. I’ve heard the term inattention blindness used a lot – this is what happens, people have their eyes straight ahead, but they see nothing; they’re minds are on the phone and their minds are elsewhere. You may ask why is driving a car with a passenger any different? Studies have found having an adult passenger in the car actually makes you a safer driver.

Local governments seem to be doing little about it. Pennsylvania debated a cell phone bill this year, but it was voted down because lawmakers thought it would infringe on civil liberties. Some states have made talking on the phone a secondary driving offense, meaning you can’t be stopped for it, but if you’re stopped for something else, you’ll receive a ticket. Secondary offense status is essentially useless except for politicians who want to say they’ve done something. What bothers me is the lack of education on the subject. I believe that this could be attacked the same way that wearing seat belts or drunk driving was. Education won’t stop everyone, but it would cut down the accidents and fatalities.

Here are some facts I found from Nationwide’s website:

  • Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08%. (University of Utah)
  • The No.1 source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device. (Virginia Tech /NHTSA)
  • Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
  • 10% of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time.
  • Driving while distracted is a factor in 25% of police reported crashes.
  • Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. (Carnegie Mellon)
  • Cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year (Human Factors and Ergonomics Society)

Since many people don’t readily admit they were on a cell phone during an accident, these numbers may be higher.

Here are some things that you can do:

  • Don’t call someone that you know is in the car – it can be hard to resist the urge to pick up a ringing phone, everyone thinks it might be an emergency. Make it easier for them
  • If you call someone and you realize they’re in the car, cut the conversation short
  • If you have to talk while driving, keep your conversations short
  • Put your phone in airplane mode while driving
  • Whatever you do, don’t text while driving – the statistics (and common sense) say that texting is worse than talking
  • Pass this post onto as many people as you can

I know everyone thinks “not me, I’m a great driver and talking and driving doesn’t affect me”. A lot of people think that – I’m an excellent driver – one accident in almost 25 years of driving. I’m doing this because there are so many bad drivers out there, and drivers talking and driving, I need 100% of my attention on the road. You do too.

More information:

I am not a racist

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Note to everyone – if you have to say “I am not a racist” on the Larry King show, then chances are you are a racist. It seems that many people don’t realize what racism is. There is some misguided belief that unless you kill someone or assault someone physically, that you’re all well and good. That calling someone nigger or chink or whatever doesn’t rise to the level of racist behavior. Last week Boston Police officer Justin Barrett was suspended for sending an email were he referred to Henry Gates Jr. as a “banana eating jungle monkey” three times and referred to Boston Globe columnist’s article about the Gates arrest as “jungle monkey gibberish”. Yet he appeared on the Larry King show to say he is not a racist.  Really? Then – really, who is a racist?

“I am not a racist” has become a refrain that is all too familiar in these days of the “post-racial” society. Barrett’s lawyer contends that this was private communication from a private computer, to which I say that once it became public it doesn’t matter; Bartlett is a government employee and once his acts become public, then their review is fair. It’s what you do in private that identifies you as racist or not. Racists generally aren’t running down the streets wearing white robes and masks yelling “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” Racists at least are interested in self-preservation and keep their racist thoughts and speech to the like minded. It’s when this speech is moved public where action is demanded.  His lawyer says that cops that do cocaine get their jobs back and that Barrett doesn’t deserve to be fired. To that I say that drugs are an addiction, and there are many recovered addicts that are benefits to society. Officer Justin Barrett is a racist, and as such can not be recovered to the point to where they can be trusted to protect the public.

There are enough bad cops out there that we’re not sure of. Let’s get rid of the ones we know are bad.

The National Mall – The National Disgrace

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A few weeks ago we visited Washington D.C. and while there we took the time to visit the National Mall. It had been years since I’d seen the White House or that Lincoln Memorial, and I had yet to see new memorials such as the World War II memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial. You visit a memorial to pay respects and the be impressed. I left the mall feeling a bit sick to my stomach at the condition of the mall.

Some of the things I saw:

  • The reflecting pool is filled with green, fetid water
  • Duck and geese feces litter the areas surrounding the pool
  • The grass that immediately surrounds the pool has been worn to a 15 foot wide dirt path

Word is that there was $200 million removed from the stimulus package that would have been dedicated to fixing major problems. According an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer article, earmarks are another issue. One thing I do know is that this is a disgrace. Many people will say that we have other things to worry about in this day and age and I don’t disagree. But worrying about other things doesn’t mean your forget everything else; we pay our public officials to multitask? It’s as if we have decided to not clean or take care of our house because we have to work. When someone walks into my house and it hasn’t been cleaned or taken care of, I’m embarrassed. I feel the same way about the mall – I’m embarrassed to allow visitors to see it. We’ve been lazy and derelict in our responsibilities.

I found a  picture  of the  reflecting pool facing the Washington Monument  from 2005 – a few short years ago, and the difference is remarkable. Just because “these are difficult times”, doesn’t mean we can simply ignore all of our responsibilities. As much as we need to keep things up for today’s sake, we need to maintain our cities and infrastructure for future generations. Because the District of Columbia doesn’t have representation in Congress, it’s the responsobility of our elected officials to maintain the house in which they work and that has come to represent our country to others.

If this is how we treat a national symbol – imagine how we treat the rest of the country.

The first shot  is a picture found on Wikimedia Commons that shows the National Mall as recently as 2005. The other shots were taken 3 weeks ago by myself on our visit.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard available for pre-order

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snow_leopard_imageI love that the upcoming version of OS X  for the Mac, 10.6 Snow Leopard, is available for the dirt cheap price of $29 to upgrade. The family pack that allows you to upgrade up to 5 computers in a household is $49.

Couple of things:

The new operating system has been promoted as a refinement of Leopard as opposed to an entire new OS. Focused on improvements as opposed to new features.

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard