Saturday, December 10, 2005
NCPA
Alright people, it's high time we started the NCPA (National Cell Phone Association). Why? Because cell phones don't make bad drivers, people make bad drivers. More to the point, stupid people make bad drivers (cell phones just make it easier to be a bad driver).
I've been thinking about this for a while now, but 2 events last night really pushed me over the edge. On the way to pick up a friend I was slowly passing a Chevy Impala while in the lane to their right. This person was talking on their cell phone and had a passenger in the car. While I was moving through their blind spot they began to merge into me. Luckily they saw me waving at them as I sped up and drove past without incident. Lucky, not really a close call, just lucky.
Later on the very same night we were going to the midnight movie. On the way to the theatre I was passing a Ford Explorer in the right lane when the person (again on the cell phone, again with a passenger) began turning into me. I hit the breaks, but it was icy out and I didn't do too much stopping (thank god for anti-lock breaks). I did my best to steer away from the SUV without crashing into the snowbank. My passenger was good enough to reach over without interfering with my steering and honk my horn. This wasn't lucky, this was a damn close call.
Personally I remember from drivers training that before you change lanes you are supposed to 1) signal, 2) check your mirrors, 3) turn your f*cking head and check your god damned blind spot, and 4) safely change lanes. I know this is a lot of steps and can be very difficult to do. After all, it takes a great deal of effort to move your finger two f*cking inches to activate your turn signal and even more effort to turn your obesely fat head to the left or right to check for traffic. Kids that have played Parappa the Rapper know this crap.
I think this stems in part from Americans' general selfishness. It seems to me that once people get into their cars, the outside world only exists in a 3 foot circle around it. People do not pay attention to what they are doing in relation to the world around them. I remember driving for 35+ hours straight with Mike and still feeling that we were more aware than a lot of the drivers on the road...because we didn't cause/nearly cause any accidents.
This is where the NCPA comes in. I'm sure you've heard of laws or proposed laws limiting or banning cell phone use while driving. Well, I think that this is a right that we need to fight to keep. Cell phone use isn't in the constitution, but I think that our right to communicate freely should not be infringed upon. I don't think it's fair that us responsible users should suffer and miss important calls, or even be denied the right to talk about some trivial matter because a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch. We need to band together and stop our intrusive government from invading our lives and limiting our freedoms. Especially when those freedoms put others at risk. And remember, cell phones don't make bad drivers, people make bad drivers.
I've been thinking about this for a while now, but 2 events last night really pushed me over the edge. On the way to pick up a friend I was slowly passing a Chevy Impala while in the lane to their right. This person was talking on their cell phone and had a passenger in the car. While I was moving through their blind spot they began to merge into me. Luckily they saw me waving at them as I sped up and drove past without incident. Lucky, not really a close call, just lucky.
Later on the very same night we were going to the midnight movie. On the way to the theatre I was passing a Ford Explorer in the right lane when the person (again on the cell phone, again with a passenger) began turning into me. I hit the breaks, but it was icy out and I didn't do too much stopping (thank god for anti-lock breaks). I did my best to steer away from the SUV without crashing into the snowbank. My passenger was good enough to reach over without interfering with my steering and honk my horn. This wasn't lucky, this was a damn close call.
Personally I remember from drivers training that before you change lanes you are supposed to 1) signal, 2) check your mirrors, 3) turn your f*cking head and check your god damned blind spot, and 4) safely change lanes. I know this is a lot of steps and can be very difficult to do. After all, it takes a great deal of effort to move your finger two f*cking inches to activate your turn signal and even more effort to turn your obesely fat head to the left or right to check for traffic. Kids that have played Parappa the Rapper know this crap.
I think this stems in part from Americans' general selfishness. It seems to me that once people get into their cars, the outside world only exists in a 3 foot circle around it. People do not pay attention to what they are doing in relation to the world around them. I remember driving for 35+ hours straight with Mike and still feeling that we were more aware than a lot of the drivers on the road...because we didn't cause/nearly cause any accidents.
This is where the NCPA comes in. I'm sure you've heard of laws or proposed laws limiting or banning cell phone use while driving. Well, I think that this is a right that we need to fight to keep. Cell phone use isn't in the constitution, but I think that our right to communicate freely should not be infringed upon. I don't think it's fair that us responsible users should suffer and miss important calls, or even be denied the right to talk about some trivial matter because a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch. We need to band together and stop our intrusive government from invading our lives and limiting our freedoms. Especially when those freedoms put others at risk. And remember, cell phones don't make bad drivers, people make bad drivers.
# posted by John @ 12/10/2005 07:02:00 AM 
