Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Know what ticks me OFF?


A few days ago, I read a news story about a woman who got busted by the cops for driving while breast feeding and talking on her cell phone. All at the same time. Pretty jaw-dropping, huh? Now I have nothing against breast feeding or driving or talking on a cell phone but ALL AT ONCE? Pretty damn crazy.

Over the past few days when I've left the house to run an errand or two I've spotted drivers weaving around, cutting people off, and running red lights in record numbers. Each and every time, they are folks who seem determined to chat on their phones while driving. A man once commented to me that women do this all the time. Uh uh. I beg to differ. Men are equally opportunity offenders when it comes to this behavior. A few years ago there was a terrible traffic accident in our smallish town. The driver of a Chevy Suburban ran a red light, killing a young man on a motorcycle. The reason she ran the red light? She was chatting on her cell phone.

I've never been one of those people who has a cell phone glued to her ear. I keep one in my car but if it rings while I'm driving, I let voicemail pick up or have a passenger answer for me. I can always return the call when I get safely where I'm going.

Do you have a little THING that just bugs you to death? Oh, I promise, I have a few more and most of them have to do with common courtesy. There's nothing wrong with letting someone with only a few items move ahead of you in line at the grocery store. It's the right thing to do when you help someone who is elderly find some little this or that or fetch something from a too-tall shelf. These are little things that don't take long and are the kinds of things I've always tried to teach my kids. I'm sure you've done the same with yours.

So what's your beef? What ticks you off?

8 comments:

Amy Ruttan said...

The thing about that woman, she says she'll do it again.

Umm, okay so when you get in an accident and the air bag crushes your child against your chest don't be suing because it's your own damn fault.

I never talk and drive. When I'm driving, I DRiVE. Maybe because I worked for a decade in law firms dealing with MVA accidents, especially for stupid things like that.

Regina Carlysle said...

I thought about that, too, Amy. So damn dangerous. If people feel they HAVE to gab on the cell phone they should at least use those ear phone things but, know what? I think those are dangerous while driving too. It's interactive and takes attention away from the task at hand which is driving.

Anne Rainey said...

You've got to be kidding me?!! That's the most insane thing I've heard yet. I breast fed both my kids, I cannot imagine driving while doing it. That's beyond stupid! She should get jail time for putting her baby in danger like that!!

Cell phones--mine is used for ermergencies. My husband, kids, parents can call me if they NEED something. Other than that, wait until I get home. My family has figured out that I don't use it while I drive, so sometimes if they need something they'll call one of my daughter's then relay th e info to me. When I drive, I drive. This is something I am DRILLING into my daughter's head now. She'll be 16 in Sept. She damn well better not use that phone while she's driving or I'll take the keys and the phone. Safety first, always!

Kelley Nyrae said...

That mom pisses me off to no end. Does she not care that she was putting her child in danger? Let's just say she's the best driver in the world, that doesn't mean everyone else is. It only takes one driver screwing up and your child is flying through the windshield because she wasn't in a seatbelt. It's wrong.

Anne Rainey said...

I have to tell you guys something. My niece was in an accident, she's 21 and at the time weighed more than me. She hit the side of a hill, not super fast or anything, but the airbag deployed. Her face looked like someone had beaten her. All she kept saying was, 'kids shoud be in the backseat, kids should be in the backseat'. At the time I had been letting the girls take turns sitting up front because they were, by law, old enough and big enough. But, after I saw Abby's face, I started putting them in the backseat again. Precious cargo, ya know?

Regina Carlysle said...

People are just stupid and don't think. Everyone is in such a rush these days. How many times have we seen women putting on make up while driving? I've seen it a million times. Before my daughter was driving and I had to pick her up every afternoon at the high school, I saw kids texting while driving. The streets were like a demolition derby around the school and there they were...pounding away on their cell phones while driving. It's a wonder there aren't more accidents.

Amy Ruttan said...

Kelley is right, when you get in a collision, whether it's your fault or not, you have no control over holding your baby.

Trust me, I've seen so many forensic reports from accidents. We had one gentleman who was in a hit and run. His truck rolled, several times and he hurt his spine badly. He was a welder, or some trade like that, and because of the accident he couldn't stand to do his job.

When the forensic report came in, we found out at the speed the other guy hit, if he hadn't of rolled his truck and just stopped dead on the road his heart would have exploded.

Seriously. MVA's are serious ... stuff (was going to use expletive thought it better not to, but this makes me angry.)

Anne's niece is proof of the dangers of airbags, on adults, so think of a child.

Kelley Nyrae said...

Yep, Amy. I agree. I used to work at the emergency room and I've seen some very bad accidents and what it can do to people. So scary.