Glad to hear you no longer drive intoxicated. The point about anti-depressants is interesting though. I’ve never thought about that but if it has those effects even on a small percentage of the number of people taking them thats still a LOT of drivers to be worried about.

Maybe it was just me, but think how many people are using those and driving.

JSO, that was instructive about the comparison between drunks and cell phone users. Especially the visualization part.

Also years ago, I used to drive while drinking and high on marijuana and, muscular control aside, my mind kept wandering off from the road. Hairy.

Most of those commutes either took place during rush hour or in the wee hours of the night when the drunks are out in force.

Depending on how much time you spent behind the wheel since ’82, your amount of incidents are probably not out of the realm of possibility ……19 accidents in a quarter century has better odds than winning the Powerball. I’d have trouble calculating the exact odds without knowing more data…..but 19 accidents still brings a WOW!!! from me.

Jeff

I wish I had that kind of luck to have only been hit once but as Sam could tell you the law of averages seems to run shrieking out the door anytime I’m involved. With all the times I’ve been hit I’m not dead or in a wheel chair. I’m actually about as active as any other middle aged tech geek.

Still, I know what you mean.

I saw an episode on Mythbusters once where they drove through an obstacle course drunk and they drove through it again while sober but on a cell phone. They drove MUCH better when they were drunk.

I really think there’s a tendency to visualize while talking on the phone, and that visualization takes the driver away from what’s going on around him or her.

Denny, Thanks … Still looking forward to the next time you pounce on me with a soap box I’ve inadvertently blundered under.

Take my wife. Please (not really). In suburban New York City, where we live, she used to rail against people driving and talking.

But it wasn’t long before she got a ticket for that herself.

Incidentally, operating increasingly complex car stereos on your dashboard is also a hazard. How many has that killed?

One of my biggest complaints about drivers around here — on the level of “What next? The breakdown of society?” — are drivers who, side by side with you on the highway, drift into your lane. That kind of inattention is truly out-freaking.

Number one of course is those who run red lights, which makes being a pedestrian in this suburban area extremely perilous, especially for the elderly. In effect, after the light turns to green for the pedestrian, you need to automatically wait four or five beats before walking.

Finally, all prospective drivers should be required to take courses in high-speed evasion maneuvers befor being licensed. Are you kidding me? the car industry screams after a quarter in which GM has lost $700 million.