Serani
11th July 2002, 12:48 AM
Okay, not of the day. I'm not going to turn into Jerelakoth or anything.
However.
I found myself actually shocked today. Now it takes a lot to outright shock me. I'm rarely even surprised, at least by human stupidity. Today was something completely different.
It was another hot day today in Portland. Somewhere around 93 in the shade which, while isn't bad compared to, say, Texas, is boiling around here. And I'm long since not used to the heat of the south. So we decided to go out for a fan.
On the way back, we're going down the highway at a respectable 70 miles per hour (hey! That's only 15 over the speed limit!) and we passed a little black pick up truck.
With a driver who was putting eye drops in his eyes. Yes, while he was driving.
Now, I, myself, am guilty of doing things while I drive. I'm rarely without a drink of some kind, I often eat (though only finger-type foods), and I'm known on MORE than one occasion to mess with the radio. And yes, I will even talk on the phone, but I'm loathe to do it while driving and most often it's with my hands-free set.
Today's rant is about people who feel the need to do things while they drive. Women who have to put on three full layers of make-up, of course using their rear-view mirrors for it. The typical cell phone users who are paying NO attention to their surroundings, much less how they're driving. You know them. They'll move over into the left lane when your front fender is even with their back left passenger seat. Or they slow down to 20 mph because they're so engrossed in their conversation that they don't realize they're doing 20 on the highway. Or worse still is when they've hit 85 because yet again, they're not paying enough attention to their driving.
Then there's the guy who was reading his newspaper on the way to work. While doing 55 down Interstate 5. Covering somewhere around 75% of his field of view with his paper.
I've often wondered if people were directly financially responsible for accidents they cause (not having insurance, having to pay for it - out of pocket), would they be more careful. We pay for car insurance. Anywhere from $50 a month to upwards of $200 a month. To cover ourselves and other people if we get into an accident. And that alone should be enough to make you more careful. Because the more accidents you cause, the more your insurance goes up, right? But somehow it doesn't seem to work.
I think it gives a false sense of security maybe. "Oh, well, I've got insurance so it doesn't matter." But what if you suddenly became responsible for a $16,000 vehicle that's been totaled because you weren't paying attention. I mean directly responsible. As in, "this is going to court and I'm going to have to pay this person $16,000 to get a new car" responsible.
Would it make us any more aware? Would we, as a rule, be more careful?
There will always be those that drive aggressively, no matter who's responsible for the costs. There will always be those that are just plain stupid when it comes to driving.
But what about the average Joe? (No pun intended for those who know Rubi's real name)
However.
I found myself actually shocked today. Now it takes a lot to outright shock me. I'm rarely even surprised, at least by human stupidity. Today was something completely different.
It was another hot day today in Portland. Somewhere around 93 in the shade which, while isn't bad compared to, say, Texas, is boiling around here. And I'm long since not used to the heat of the south. So we decided to go out for a fan.
On the way back, we're going down the highway at a respectable 70 miles per hour (hey! That's only 15 over the speed limit!) and we passed a little black pick up truck.
With a driver who was putting eye drops in his eyes. Yes, while he was driving.
Now, I, myself, am guilty of doing things while I drive. I'm rarely without a drink of some kind, I often eat (though only finger-type foods), and I'm known on MORE than one occasion to mess with the radio. And yes, I will even talk on the phone, but I'm loathe to do it while driving and most often it's with my hands-free set.
Today's rant is about people who feel the need to do things while they drive. Women who have to put on three full layers of make-up, of course using their rear-view mirrors for it. The typical cell phone users who are paying NO attention to their surroundings, much less how they're driving. You know them. They'll move over into the left lane when your front fender is even with their back left passenger seat. Or they slow down to 20 mph because they're so engrossed in their conversation that they don't realize they're doing 20 on the highway. Or worse still is when they've hit 85 because yet again, they're not paying enough attention to their driving.
Then there's the guy who was reading his newspaper on the way to work. While doing 55 down Interstate 5. Covering somewhere around 75% of his field of view with his paper.
I've often wondered if people were directly financially responsible for accidents they cause (not having insurance, having to pay for it - out of pocket), would they be more careful. We pay for car insurance. Anywhere from $50 a month to upwards of $200 a month. To cover ourselves and other people if we get into an accident. And that alone should be enough to make you more careful. Because the more accidents you cause, the more your insurance goes up, right? But somehow it doesn't seem to work.
I think it gives a false sense of security maybe. "Oh, well, I've got insurance so it doesn't matter." But what if you suddenly became responsible for a $16,000 vehicle that's been totaled because you weren't paying attention. I mean directly responsible. As in, "this is going to court and I'm going to have to pay this person $16,000 to get a new car" responsible.
Would it make us any more aware? Would we, as a rule, be more careful?
There will always be those that drive aggressively, no matter who's responsible for the costs. There will always be those that are just plain stupid when it comes to driving.
But what about the average Joe? (No pun intended for those who know Rubi's real name)