Bailie.com

Monday, March 10, 2008

Texting and driving

Note: Reposting this because I deleted it by accident while trying to delete nuisance trackbacks..

When I hear people calling into talk shows calling for bans on cell phones in cars, draconian measures such as building in phone de-activators, I roll my eyes and wonder what world they live in. Or, as they’d say in my business, they haven’t thought through their use cases, let alone the edge cases. (So even passengers wouldn’t be able to use their phones in the car? If I’m pulled over but in my car, I’d have to step out onto the highway to call for help? Now there’s a less-than-safe alternative!) Instead, I’m a believer in knowing your limits. At the point in time when I realized I could not safely dial and drive, I stopped. If I’m talking and have to attend to a traffic situation, I simply say, “hold on, hold on” and deal with whatever I have to deal with, no matter how long the silence gets. Safety first. Have I texted while driving? Sure, while I’m stopped at a red light. It might take me three or four red lights to tap out the message “very late. be there 30 mins” but the second the light turns green, I put down my phone and concentrate on the road. I never want to be like the driver of an F150 truck I saw weaving down the highway one night. I assumed the driver was drunk; when I passed the truck, I saw the glow of the open cell phone - the driver was meandering between two lanes while texting.

So yesterday, when taking the Super Shuttle from the San Francisco airport to the downtown Palomar Hotel, I was scared out of my wits. The driver was driving at 60-70 MPH over the Bay Bridge while text messaging the entire time. I was completely appalled. The other passengers didn’t say a word, which surprised me because I asked the guy next to me if he thought this was a safe practice and he was clearly uncomfortable, and it was only when I shrilly demanded that he stop that he did – until he had dropped all the other passengers off, and then he could not resist picking up his phone again while he made his way to my hotel. I don’t know if he was indulging in political discourse or an overactive libido, but it was obvious to me that whatever his motivation, it was pretty compulsive. (The hotel staff inform me that texting while driving is not legal in California, which means that his compulsion was stronger than his common sense on more than one front.)

I am returning to the airport on Wednesday but will make other arrangements (even take public transit, if I have to) to avoid such a hair-raising experience again. To their credit, Super Shuttle responded by saying that a complaint has been filed and forwarded to the local Quality Assurance manager for review, and I should get an answer within five days. Let’s see what kind of response they come up with.