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Distracted? Guilty!

We all just need to pay more attention behind the wheel, says Wendy King in this week's Everything King
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How much can you afford to lose for not paying attention?

As of Jan. 1 of next year, police in Ontario will be able to not only give you a hefty fine for distracted driving, but be able to suspend your driver’s licence upon conviction.

The maximum fine could be $2,000.

That got my attention.

I applaud any penalty that will wake people up to the fact they are not capable (nobody is) of multi-tasking behind the wheel.

If the money isn’t steep enough, the loss of your licence ought to be.

There certainly has been enough public education about the dangers of inattentive driving. Still, we all see drivers everyday texting and driving, looking down at their phone or in a myriad of different ways not paying attention.

Even though use of hands free devices is allowed, I still don’t think its smart. You simply can’t be fully focused on any two things at once. If you are on the phone or even talking to a passenger, some part of your brain is not watching what’s going on around you.

While I am not guilty of using my cell phone in the car – I just turn it off so I am not even tempted to check – I am very guilty of other things that do equate distracted driving.

For instance, any road trip needs a coffee or water to go with it. We have all been guilty of messing around with the lids or spilling it and looking down. Add in a bagel or a burger and you are fumbling with bags, wrapping, napkins and dripping ketchup. Heaven forbid if it is something messier. Literally, an accident waiting to happen.

Also. I plead guilty to looking at my GPS. It’s the kind in the dash and I have it set so the nice British lady tells me when she’s recalculating (with me, she is constantly recalculating but that’s another issue). But there are times when she’s silent and you look at the screen to see the map. It just happens. We’ve all been in that situation where you take your eyes off the road for just a split second and look back up and you are on or near somebody’s bumper.

Add in music. I have to have music while driving. I try to set my radio up before I head out so everything is pre-set. If its CDs I have them in a tray lined up so I can just grab them by feel and not look. Truthfully, it's still distracting. There are so many times I am so engrossed in the song I don’t remember the trip. That can’t be good.

The OPP advise that distracted driving is all encompassing and all the things I have just mentioned are included, not to mention children in the backseat or a pet in a carrier. It all pulls our attention away from what we are supposed to be doing and that’s driving.

Police do have discretion about whether to pull you over for a little roadside education or write the ticket.

We all need to remember driver’s education. As Stormin’ Norman (that’s what we called our instructor in high school) always told us:

  1. Don’t tailgate
  2. Use your rear and side mirrors
  3. Use your signal indicator
  4.  Do the big look before you change lanes
  5.  Anticipate what may be ahead

With all the vehicles on the roads now and all the commuting, we have to take responsibility for ourselves and also protect others on the roads.

It really is life and death every time we get behind the wheel.

Maybe tougher laws will be the wake-up call we all need.


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About the Author: Wendy King

Wendy King writes about all kinds of things from nutrition to the job search from cats to clowns — anything and everything — from the ridiculous to the sublime. Watch for Wendy's column weekly.
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