rare pattern thoughts in a blog

A couple of days ago, I witnessed an almost-accident: The left turn arrow changed to green and a guy going straight just started off into the intersection, almost smacking head-on into a left-turning car from the other direction.

The turning car blared its horn. He stopped eventually -- almost too late. The turning car moved on. The light turned green, and I started forward from the #2 lane....

...and saw the driver, a 20-something guy who was completely nonplussed, chatting away on his cell phone he had pressed to his ear.

This was in Longmont, Colorado, but hopefully California's new law will eventually hit this state that so-doggedly embraces individual freedoms.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the measure, urged Californians not to wait until then to put down their phones while driving, citing government data showing those who held their phones while driving were involved in 15 times more accidents than those with hands-free setups.

"The simple fact is that it is really dangerous to talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time," Schwarzenegger said. "It's very important for people to know ... stop using the cell phone right now, because you are putting people at risk."

I've been using cell phones since 1994, driving with them all that time. It didn't take long to realize that every time I was talking with that then-rather-large flip-phone to my ear, I was entering my own little Twilight Zone, slowing down to way below the speed limit, not noticing the traffic around me except in some vague dream-like sense, certainly not prepared for any unexpected moves by other cars (which certainly can be expected in LA).

I had to learn how to drive with the cell phone, learn how to pay full attention to driving while someone was demanding my attention. And I had to learn to not futz with the phone itself while driving, for it was much more complicated than changing a radio station.

When I got an earpiece for the phone, it all got better. Living and working freelance in LA, where everything seems to be at least an hour's drive away on surface streets, I had to have the phone. More than once it made the difference in getting six months of work. And I had to drive. The earpiece made it possible. I still had to focus on concentrating while driving -- it has become habit now -- but it helped.

Now if only there could be a law requiring cell phone companies to use an earpiece.

About the author

Laura Scott is a web designer and developer.