And drive! Seriously, people! And get your dogs off your laps too!
This morning I was on my way for a tour of our local public school (where, when it was over, I returned to my car and cried - good times!) and I was stopped at a four way light. When it turned green, I waited WITH MY SIGNAL ON to turn left, staring at the very slowly oncoming SUV, who had also been stopped, wondering when she was going to go. Finally I realized she wanted to turn to her left, but was not signalling because she had her left hand holding her phone to her ear and the right hand holding her coffee while her wrist was handling the steering. She was unable to signal. Why the people behind her - the long line of traffic being held up - did not honk, is beyond me.
Later in the morning I was returning from taking the kids to see the Easter bunny at the mall (Rocket cried big tears) and was stuck behind what appeared to be a very confused driver in another SUV. She would stop about two car lengths before a stop light for no reason, them move over in the lane, like she was going to change lanes, but then would jerk back. Finally I had a chance to pass her and as I did, I looked into her car and saw that she was a very short old lady who was on the phone while struggling to drive. Her phone was plugged in too, which was perfect. While she may have simply had a low battery, being plugged in made it look like a much older car phone. It fit the picture.
Finally, we got behind an old man who lingered at stop signs and drove erratically, only to find upon passing that he was looking at a map resting across his steering wheel and had a dog in his lap.
When did people stop caring? People get lost, yes, but pull over when there is someone behind you and resume your search after. The same goes for people on the phone. When I was young, I thought it was the law that drivers had to keep their hands in the 10 and 2 positions. Now it is lucky if people use one hand to drive. I made a commitment to Kevin a few years ago after Clover was born that I would not use a cell phone while driving unless in traffic or in an emergency. I knew my focus was not fully on the road when talking, so I agreed. My children's lives are more important than any call. It seems like 90% of the time, when behind a slow or erratically moving car, the driver is on a cell phone. And it makes me crazy that cell phone use is not cited during car accidents. Cars have become traveling homes and I don't think that is necessarily a good thing. When cars are computer driven, it will be great to be able to eat, talk and read email while driving, but until then, I wish those drivers would get out of my way.
