I have witnessed him try and go through many more gadgets than your average person. One of the things that he purchased recently was a GPS unit for his car. And while the GPS unit is certainly helpful, it is also incredibly dangerous. There was one occasion in particular after he had just purchased this GPS unit that we were driving in his car and were almost involved in an accident simply because he was trying to figure out how to fix the directions on the device. Imagine that! The GPS unit was giving us the wrong directions, and instead of pulling the car over to the side of the road or off of the road all together so that he could address the problem, he did what most people would have done which is try to fix the problem while you are driving.
While this is a classic example of gadgets in vehicles acting as a distraction, it is certainly not the only example.
Today, we live in a technologically savvy society. From pagers to smart phones to iPods to GPS devices, DVD players and other sorts of knick knacks, there is no shortage of gadgets and gizmos out there to take our attention away from where it should be: on the road. People neglect to take into account the fact that it only takes a fraction of a second of not having your eyes on the road to lose control of your vehicle or for someone else to strike your vehicle from a different angle. If this is the case, how will you have time to properly react? The answer is that you would not have any time to react. If you are lucky, you’ll walk away from an accident without a scratch.
So, what should be done about gadgets and other devices for vehicles? Should they be banned? As it is, law prohibits anyone from mounting or viewing a DVD player from the front seat of their cars. However, it is still allowable to have DVD players installed in the backs of seats within vehicles. This serves as a great distraction to those who are driving behind a vehicle equipped with DVD players in them. I cannot tell you how many times I have driven with other people who have made it their goal to figure out what the person in front of us had playing on their DVD player. This is incredibly dangerous! If you must equip your vehicle with gadgets, then try to make sure that you only use them sparingly. For instance, if you are bringing your iPod along for the ride, before you have even accelerated from a stopped position, make sure that the play list you want is selected before you proceed any further. Try to avoid flipping through songs or looking down to see what artist is singing what song, etc. It could wind up saving your life someday to pay attention to the roads surrounding you. (more…)
