Hands on the Wheel Instead of the Cell Phone

Not so long ago, in a galaxy called West Seattle, I used to get up in the morning, fix myself breakfast, grab my tote bag, and make the drive between Seattle and Everett. The approximate 30 mile commute went from 40 minutes to well over an hour on bad traffic mornings (Tuesdays being the worst), and yet I needed to commute for a few months before handing my office space over to a colleague and moving my private psychotherapy practice to West Seattle. Sometimes I commuted on my motorcycle, which made things a little less stressful, except when I was polite enough to line up on the backed-up stretches of the entrance ramp to I-5.

By the time six months slid by, I wanted to someone to take me out back and shoot me. I hated commuting, and it was making feel sick.

Once I got past the mobile phone "drop zone" on the West Seattle bridge, I used to try making phone calls to catch up on errands. But the stress of using my commute for more "work" made this idea less and less appealing. The commute time was also inappropriate for client calls because of distraction.

Like most people, I began considering alternatives: listen to music, listen to news programs, practice learning French using language CD's. Each of these alternatives had a point: keep your hands on the wheel, and your eyes on the road. Reduce your distraction, and remember that when you climb behind the wheel of an automobile, you are taking your life (and possibly someone else's) into your own hands.

Whatever happened to old-fashioned, undistracted driving? Unless you have your own driver (that isn't you), when did you think it would ever be OK to take your hands off the wheel and move your eyes and your attention somewhere else than on the road and the cars, bicycles, and pedestrians around you? Almost every time a car has veered through a crosswalk when I had the right of way as a pedestrian, nine out of ten times that driver had a cell phone in his and her hands. Likely, the driver never even noticed me.

Check out what King 5 News had to say about the new hands-free cell phone law that starts Thursday June 10: http://www.king5.com/news/consumer/LOOPHOLE-IN-NEW-CELL-PHONE-LAW--95824039.html. Now you can be pulled over and cited for holding your cell phone while driving without any other reason for being pulled over (such as a traffic violation). You can still talk on your phone, but you can't hold it in your hand to your ear or cradle it between your ear and shoulder (though it can be in your hand, just not held to your ear). And it's still not OK to violate traffic laws, cell phone or no cell phone. [added 06/10: a woman holding a Bluetooth device to her ear was pulled over, but did not receive the $124 fine].

And though cell phone users and drivers have plenty of hands-free devices to help them be compliant, I implore you to go a few steps further:

1. Don't engage in emotional conversations with others while driving. Emotions can cloud your judgment and elongate your reaction times.
2. Keep your conversations brief and business-like, such as, "I"m just calling you to let you know I'm running 5 minutes late, see you soon."
3. Consider talking briefly only on freeways and highways, and not in congested areas involving bicycles and pedestrians. Use voice dialing.
4. For crying out loud, don't text or jabber away on your cell phone while taking your babies and children on errands with you. Pull over to the side of the road, and take care of what you need to on your phone. We already know that parent drivers have to split their attention between the road and their children. You don't need to give any more attention away to a cell phone.

Some cars are outfitted with Bluetooth and a decent set of speakers. Still, I (as Video Nurse), advocate cautious and informed use of calls made from your car, especially because of the distraction factor. What conversation in the car could possibly be worth the value of your life, or someone else's life?

The first time I saw a police officer use a computer while engaged in a high speed chase (I was doing a ride-along program to learn more about our police force), I was momentarily terrified. Then again, officers are trained to do this. The minute the officer punched data in, both hands were on the wheel, pedal went to the metal, and I have never felt safer. The rest of us don't have hours of experience learning how to control a car AND communicate vital information back to police headquarters WHILE occasionally punching in data onto a netbook-sized keyboard. So if you don't have this kind of experience, don't pretend that you do. Put the phone down, and limit your use of voice dialing and cell phone calls.

So, how did I pass all those hours of commuting without losing my mind? I practiced singing show tunes, learning about 300 tunes at one point in time. Guess some day it'll pay off when I do some serious karaoke, or if you ever ask me to sing in your wedding.