A Pet Peeve: Distracted Drivers
San Jose real estate professional and ActiveRain blogger Kathleen Daniels is the sponsor of one of the April contests for members of ActiveRain.
No Fooling Around April 2017 Let’s Get Real Contest
Get real with us and tell what your real peeve is. This includes agents, brokers, lenders, stagers, marketing, SEO, virtual assistants, website development … you get the idea. Everyone has a peeve which means everyone gets to play.
Peeve Defined: annoys, irritates, angers, irks, exasperates, trys patience, gets on nerves, ruffles feathers, etc. Members need to submit their entries before the end of this month.
Those of us who spend a lot of time in their vehicles share a common pet peeve: Distracted Drivers.
On a serious note, distracted driving causes about 25% of motor vehicle accident fatalities and a much larger percentage of vehicle accidents that have no fatalities. Those of us who live and drive in the Metro Area of Washington, DC know at it takes only a moment of distraction to cause an accident on our congested highways where crazy drivers are abound.
Wandering minds are reported to be leading cause of distracted driving fatalities. I do not have a cure for those who are 'lost in thought' but all of us need to pay close attention to our driving.
Cell phone use is said to the the second leading cause of deaths due to distraction related accidents. Even though the use of a cell phone could lead to a traffic ticket in our area, seeing drivers who are texting or talking on their hand held phones is common. I see those drivers every day.
All of us notice a change in traffic patterns when there is an accident ahead or when people in other cars create distractions. Gawking can lead to an accident.
If you are a parent, think about the times that children have caused a distraction while you are driving. It takes an extra effort to maintain concentration on our driving.
Reaching for devices or controls can also cause us to look away at a critical moment. And, even worse, concentrating on the GPS screen rather than what is ahead can be very dangerous.
Have you seen the drivers with pets in their laps while driving? I am sure you have. Loose pets in the front seat can easily cause distractions.
As we drive along the interstate, it is not unusual to see women working on their makeup while driving. I wonder why it can't wait until the reach a parking location.
Eating and drinking while driving is fine for many but when there are drips and spills, those distractions can cause an accident. Eating a Five Guys Burger with everything takes two hands.
I could go on and on with peeves related to distracted driving.
What have you seen to be the worst examples of distracted driving?
Chrysanthemum, Brookside Gardens IMG_1807
Photograph by Roy Kelley
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
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