Distracted driving: Are we STILL texting and chatting on the road?

I know, I know, I've been harping on this for quite some time now. Does mother need to tell you how to make me stop? That's right! I will stop nagging you as soon as you do what I say, and I say that you must STOP texting or chatting on the phone as you drive. So have you stopped? Yes? Good for you!

What? Some of you haven't?

OK, you've asked for it; I'm calling in the big guns. If you won't listen to me, then maybe you'll pay more attention when you hear it from Oprah. That's right, Oprah herself has turned her attention to this critical issue, bless her heart. In fact, she devoted an entire show to America's New Deadly Obsession, complete with custom t-shirts and a very catchy slogan (Don't tempt f8, that txt can w8). But it's more than just a show. Oprah is starting a movement, the No Phone Zone movement. Thank you so much, dear Oprah!

If you have time, mother recommends the entire episode. It is powerful, and true. Or you can select from various segments, or check out interesting related stories. And if you do nothing else, at the very least PLEASE go to the No Phone Zone to take the pledge.

But I know you're busy, so in case you don't have time to head over to Oprah's place and watch a video, why don't I just recap mother's complete series of posts on the topic. The graphics and real life examples are vastly superior on Oprah, but you can find the basic message here...

Have I issued a commandment lately?
Why you should NEVER text while driving
Good news!
Texting is not the only thing teens should NOT do while driving
And driving is not the only thing we should NOT do while texting


Oprah and I are not kidding. This is every bit as dangerous as driving drunk. It is life and death. So just don't do it, OK? OK! Enough said.

Well, except that mother is SO proud of all of you who are already doing the right thing. Thank you, darlings. Over and out.

And driving is not the only thing we should NOT do while texting

Walking and texting together are also causing plenty of trouble out there. Yes, I know we've covered this topic before (Have I issued a commandment lately?) but in case you've forgotten this pearl of wisdom from Riders on the Road, I'll repeat it here:

Remember, just because your mother nags you doesn't mean she isn't right.

The New York Times gets it, and considers it front page news today (Forget Gum. Walking and Using a Phone is Risky). Matt Richtel describes some entertaining examples, like the poor woman who walked into a truck, a guy who walked into a telephone pole and a young lady who walked into a store window, along with alarming ER data from 2008 and fascinating studies on multitasking that examine "inattention blindness" and the conditions that cause it. It's a very interesting article; check it out.

Or if you prefer, just do as I say because I said so. Either way, we'll all be safer out there, and mother will be very proud. Thanks!

Texting is not the only thing teens should NOT do while driving

Horseplay is also out. Many of us may think that goes without saying, and with good reason, but a recent story from my favorite news magazine, The Week, about a tragic accident in Arizona, reminds us that it never hurts to be crystal clear on this point. In fact, I believe this rises to the level of a commandment:

There shall be NO horseplay in and around a moving vehicle.

And while we can thank a grieving Arizona teen who ran over and killed her own brother by accident (while playing chicken) for this reminder, there is no reason to limit this rule to teens. All drivers would do well to remember that screwing around with cars is dangerous and inappropriate. Always.

Listen to Sgt. Ed Wessing, the officer from Arizona, who is quoted in the story, "Driving is not the time to horseplay, whether it's hood surfing or doing this type of thing." Mother Rider doesn't even know what hood surfing is, and doesn't want to. She feels quite comfortable forbidding it sight unseen, and thanks Sgt. Wessing for the heads up.

Finally, in case you're still hazy on the DON'T text and drive commandment, you can find extra clarity at these previous posts: Have I issued a commandment lately? and Why you should NEVER text while driving. And while we're being perfectly clear, let me repeat: this commandment is NOT limited to teens. Nobody is allowed to text and drive. Period.

Remember to stay salubrious out there, would you please? Because you know mother worries. OK? OK!

Mother Rider's belated but sincere wishes for a Salubrious 2010

Could you use an extra resolution? How about one that will make your hours on the road happier and less stressful? Say, something like this nice happy, safe and healthy driving pledge:

I swear (but not solemnly!) that I will lighten up, laugh more, drive with care and courtesy, lay off the whining and cursing, avoid rude gestures of all kinds and generally leave the other drivers alone, except for the occasional Cheery Rider Wave. I will be salubrious always, and share the way of safe and healthy driving with all my friends (and they are my friends!) on the road. And I mean it!

You can resolve quietly to yourself, or head on over to The Club page to take the pledge and join the movement. There’s a stylish official Rider Method bumper sticker in it for you! And plenty of support and encouragement from your extended Rider family and friends.

Finally, since I couldn't say it better myself, why don't we ring in the new year with Dad's favorite commandment:

"Let there be peace on the road, and let the drivers thereon be salubrious, even happy, and their passengers too. And hey, why not the bike riders and the pedestrians while we're at it. Let's all get salubrious. Now! This means you!"

And here's a word from Mom: "Bless your little pointed heads."

Remember, life is short; the road is long. Let's all lighten up and have a cheery, salubrious 2010!

Happy Trails!

Mother Says: when to honk at other drivers

Here it is February already, and still I haven't shared the good news from from my terrific New Years visit to NYC with the family, so here we go: I am happy and astonished to report that it was oddly quiet and peaceful, for New York. Would you like to know why? Look ...

Yes, signs that threaten a $350 fine for honking are posted prominently all over the city. Great idea, New York! Horns do have a purpose, but annoying everyone within earshot because another driver is annoying you is not it! To quote Mother Rider (by way of an excerpt from Riders on the Road: How to Laugh More and Rage Less with The Rider Method):

Save your horn to alert your fellow motorists to danger,
not that you’re mad. They really don’t care
and it’s annoying to the others around you.

And to quote a genuine New Yorker, Irwin Arieff (in an excerpt from Congestion Honking, The New York Sun, April 11, 2008):

Horns were invented to help prevent accidents,
not to give people migraines.

Mind you the law doesn't prohibit honking ever, only in a non-emergency situation, which in my view is just right. Lord knows, who among us doesn't need the occasional helpful reminder that we're about to smear someone in our blind spot while making a theoretically innocent lane change? Or backing up into one of those invisible posts or short little cars or worse yet, people? By all means there are times when we need those horns and need them immediately! Which is why I hate that they're in different spots in different vehicles, but that's a subject for another post.

For now, let me just be clear that Mother R approves of the honking ordinance in New York, and others in cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Antonio and many more (check the article link above for the complete list). Because while she still believes that they ought to be unnecessary because we ought to be smart enough to know better anyway, she must admit that at least in New York they have made a big difference. So despite Mr. Arieff's contention that the city can and should become even quieter with increased enforcement, she is grateful to the many New Yorkers who comply for a more pleasant visit as compared to the constant deafening noise she remembers from the last time she was there many years ago.

Thank you, New York!

And for you honkers (especially the ones who are doing it to urge the car in front of you to block the intersection) and you honkees who are intimidated by the bullies behind you into blocking the box although you know better, stop it right now, both of you! To quote once again from Riders on the Road: How to Laugh More and Rage Less with The Rider Method:

Don’t ever block the intersection.
I’m sorry you’re stuck in traffic, but it’s not their fault
and you’re not allowed to punish them for it.

And from Mr. Arieff, the New Yorker (quoting from Congestion Honking again):

honking creates congestion by pressuring drivers to
"block the box" - to zip into an intersection, rather than wait.

But once again, New York comes to the rescue with helpful signs everywhere that threaten a fine and points on your license for bad box blocking behavior. Like this...

Combined with actual boxes painted on the street to define the intersection, these signs and the penalties that go along with them are supposed to reduce traffic congestion. Do they work? Sadly, no, at least so far as I was able to observe. Come on, New Yorkers, you can do better than that! And don't think you folks who live elsewhere are exempt from Mother's orders just because you don't have signs and boxes painted on your streets. You know better.

Let's recap, shall we? These are the two simple rules for today, rules we will observe every day:

• No unnecessary honking!
• No intersection blocking!

Isn't it lovely to be nagged about something other than distracted driving for a change?

You're welcome!