Postaday for January 11th: Bone of Contention. Pick a contentious issue about which you care deeply — it could be the same-sex marriage debate, or just a disagreement you’re having with a friend. Write a post defending the opposite position, and then reflect on what it was like to do that.
I suppose I would agree with you— that texting while driving is like driving drunk— if I could just drop my drunk and be instantly sober when someone honks their horn.
Oh, wait. I can’t.
Millions of people drive every day, and how many accidents are there? Not even thousands, I bet. Maybe hundreds. And most of them don’t involve cell phones at all. Why should I be held to a standard set by the idiots who don’t know what they’re doing? Are you going to ban people from drinking coffee while they drive, just because some loser spilled his latte in his lap?
And what are we talking about here, taking my eyes off the road for a second, maybe two at the most? People take their eyes off the road all the time. Adjusting the radio. Looking in the rearview mirror. Reading street signs. That last one, especially- how is a text on my cell phone any different than the text next to a highway off ramp?
I have things to do. And let’s face it— sitting in traffic is dull. Back in the day, people just sat there, polluting the planet. At least now I can offset my carbon footprint with some activism. I hashtag #green, I’m making the world a better place!
So what if there’s a bit of a gap between me and the guy in front of me. It’ll close up, eventually. You want I should be switching lanes all over the place, like those idiots who think they’re going to get somewhere faster? Frequent lane changes don’t get you to your destination any sooner— but reading a few jokes on my phone can sure make the time go by more quickly.
There’s a story in the news every now and again about somebody sending an inappropriate text right before getting into a huge crash. I think that’s karma. And I’m a good person. I know there’s a bit of a risk, but there’s risk in just getting by the wheel of a car in the first place. We can’t make it 100% safe no matter what we do.
So where do we draw the line? We wear seatbelts, and only drive 10 MPH over the speed limit at most, and use our turn signals if there’s anyone watching, and slow down at stop signs… so many rules to follow as it is. Why clutter up the brain with more? Not worth it!