Perfect Example
A few years ago, there was an uproar about a new law in Georgia. The only problem is that uproar didn’t come until after the law was passed. It was a distracted driving law. Most everyone will say “I’m in favor of such a law!” But people threw a fit when Georgia law enforcement started issuing tickets.
They pulled over people for eating in their car.
WHAT?!?
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Yeah, you read right.
Two cases in particular that made the news were someone eating a cheeseburger and another person eating food with a dipping sauce. At its heart, most people will say that these are innocuous examples and those people are not distracted.
I will give most people credit that they can navigate and masticate at the same time, but I saw a perfect example today of why such a law makes sense. I’m getting on the Interstate highway today and the truck in front of me is taking its time. The driver at one point looks down, which would appear to someone looking from far off as he might be checking a phone. However, once I pass him, I see he has a half-eaten breakfast burrito in one hand (the same hand grasping the steering wheel), and a Big Gulp in the other, taking a big slurp. He goes to put the drink back down, takes his eyes fully off the road, and the hand still on the steering wheel follows the rest of his body. It was just enough time to cause a wreck.
So I’ll just leave this tidbit right here. It is something I learned in driver’s education, BEFORE cell phones were an issue. The instructor said: “Where your eyes and your body go, so do the car.”
Originally published at The VoiceOver Company.
