I agree with the comments made here on this subject but submit that the
essence of the problem lies with the lack of common sense of most drivers.
I have a GPS mounted on my windshield. But it is mounted such that it
does not block my view of the road. And I am very careful about what
kind of situation I'm in when I look at it. It seems that many or most
users don't give a thought to either of those issues.
I just wanted to suggest that it is not impossible to use a GPS responsibly.
Constance Warner wrote:
Great essay! I'd be in favor of ticketing drivers who mount GPS units
and other such devices on their windshields, and I hope it soon
becomes similarly illegal to mount laptop support brackets inside
cars--a truly terrifying prospect. Though I don't know how a highway
patrol officer would catch someone for "computing while driving."
When the computing driver is finally pulled over and the police
officer walks up to the offending driver's car, all Mr. Distracted
Driving has to do is to shut the lid of his laptop and deny that he's
done anything wrong. Scary. (And are there even laws against
computing while driving? This sounds like one of those obvious things
you shouldn't need to be told NOT to do. But then I didn't think
anyone would be dumb enough to send text messages while driving, either.)
Anybody who lives in this area has probably had at least one close
call with a car or other vehicle driven by a distracted driver,
especially if you're a pedestrian trying to cross K Street, Rockville
Pike, or any other road where Type A drivers cruise by with cellphones
pasted to their ears. You can be as careful as you like as a
pedestrian or a driver, but your survival, when you encounter a
texting, cellphone-talking, or computer-using driver, may still depend
largely on luck.
Yet there's a lot of resistance to passing laws against texting while
driving. Under the circumstances, I"m not overly optimistic about
enforcement actions against other kinds of electronic distractions.
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