DRIVE ME CRAZY

OK, maybe it's more of a short putt (possibly even a tap in or a "gimme*) but that's not my point. One thing (of many) that makes me nuts is this scenario. I'm driving down a city street trying to reach my destination quickly (I hate to be late) and efficiently (what with the price of gas, don't get me started.) The driver in front of me keeps tapping the car's brakes in a seemingly random fashion. And there is nobody close enough to the front of that car to suggest that this is being caused by an actual need to avoid contact. And the car to my front is going under the posted speed limit....by 5 mph or more. And I have to keep braking in order not to hit him. By now you probably have guessed the cause of this odd behavior........the idiot is busy talking on a cell phone. The most absurd case I have witnessed recently had the driver, deep into his very critical and important conversation, speeding up and slowing down in concert with the rush hour traffic in the adjacent lane, which at times came to a complete stop, while the lane in front was clear for over 10 car lengths. Then there was the guy driving along "two thumb" texting while "holding" the steering wheel at the top center with his 6 "unoccupied" fingers. As I passed him on the right I offerred him "one" of my fingers, but he didn't notice as he tapped away.

I guess I took driver's ed too long ago (and yes, we did have actual cars way back then) to realize that the preferred hand placement while actually driving had evolved from "9 and 3 o"clock" to "10 and 2 o'clock" and now to "one somewhere on the wheel if you're not smoking / eating / drinking / playing with the audio system (aka radio to us geezers) / playing "slap and tickle" with the passenger etc. and the other holding a phone to your ear. Sure, I've made and received calls when driving, but I try to keep them short and never accept / place calls those times when all my attention needs to be on the road. If you think you can multi task and not be distracted, think again. A recent study shows that just listening to a call adversely affects our attention to "the task at hand". I have less of a problem with phone use on the open (limited access) highway under light traffic conditions but even then it is distracting. (I have driven past exits that I take all the time while deeply engrossed in a conversation with someone in the car with me.) All I can say is (to reiterate a bumper sticker I've seen)...HANG UP AND DRIVE !!!!!!!