Some stories, there's just not a lot of gray area.
A few months ago, I was driving behind a vehicle that kept lurching from one side of the lane to the other. It was pretty bad. I thought the driver was drunk.
Finally, I passed the car, and I saw that the motorist was driving with one hand on the wheel, whilst her other hand held a cell phone aloft, the better to conduct a Facetime chat.
She was driving about 70 miles an hour down the highway. Yikes. Not good.
So currently, while there is a general distracted driving bill on the books, Michigan's law pertaining to using a cell phone while driving only bans texting.
A bipartisan set of bills has cleared the House Judiciary Committee to also ban using mobile apps, social media, and video streaming on a cell phone while driving.
Adrienne Woodland of AAA of Michigan says her group supports these bills. "Looking away from the road for just two seconds doubles the risk of a crash," she says.
I conclude my anecdote:
This driver got off at the same exit as me. So at the stop sign, I got out of my car and went over and tapped on her window. Her eyes got pretty big, but she didn't roll it down. So using a combination of hand gestures and loud enunciations, I advised her that her driving was not safe.
She didn't appear grateful for my advice, at all. I suppose I should be grateful she didn't throw her cell phone at my head.
Sigh. It's hard being a curmudgeon.
