Too Much Info While Driving

Foolish Highway Games

Is this madness, or what? NBC Channel 10 in Phildelphia recently reported that "New Jersey legislators pushed forward a plan to make it illegal to text message while driving. The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee voted unanimously to release the proposal after several legislators admitted frequently firing off text messages while behind the wheel, even though they know doing so is dangerous."

"Assemblyman Paul Moriarty acknowledges doing it himself, but he's not proud of it. 'It's very, very dangerous,' he said. Citing that risk, the Democratic assemblyman wants to stop motorists from sending text messages while driving."

"'It's more dangerous than talking on a cell phone because I believe you can keep your eyes on the road when talking on a cell phone,' Moriarty said. That's not the case when typing and sending text messages, he said. 'I only assume they're using their knees to drive,' Moriarty said."

Info You Don't Need While Driving

Imagine losing your life because someone is moronic enough to believe he can navigate a 3000 pound, potentially lethal vehicle while diverting his attention to a device with tiny buttons… Erik Lacitis, writing in the Seattle Times, explains how BlackBerry tapping caused a car-crunching chain reaction on Iinterstate Highway 5:

A 53 year-old man “fiddling with his BlackBerry, was cruising down Interstate 5's express lanes Tuesday morning in his minivan, oblivious that traffic ahead had come to a dead stop…” “His minivan smashed into a car, setting off a chain reaction that included three other cars and a Community Transit bus, which was carrying 28 passengers.

“No one was seriously injured, but the accident near downtown Seattle underscores the dangers of driving while preoccupied with electronic gadgets, other passengers and even ‘driver grooming,’ according to a state study.”

“The driver of the first car rear-ended by the minivan was a 36-year-old Lake Forest Park woman whose 5-month-old son was in a car seat in the back seat. The woman and her son were in satisfactory condition and staying overnight for observation at Harborview Medical Center, according to a spokeswoman.”

This is sheer madness and the essence of ineffective information and communication mismanagement