Give an extra wide berth to people on cell phones
Last week, a woman in the Target parking lot called me a (expletive). Why? I had helpfully suggested that perhaps, if she chose to either talk on her cell phone or back out of her parking space, she might not have come so close to hitting my son with her brand new convertible. I wasn't being sarcastic with my remark. She, on the other hand, was.
I have come to fear parking lots and intersections in the Triad. It seems every other car I see on the road has a driver talking on a cell phone and not paying enough attention to driving.
In Britain, talking on a cell while driving is illegal, even with a hands-free system. Responsible drivers in North Carolina should encourage restriction of cell phone usage in automobiles.
Until then, I will wait a few seconds before heading through that green light and keep my children close when crossing a parking lot.
Susan Cox-Smith
Greensboro
Comments (5)
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Yo -- this is AMERICA, not the UK, and we are the land of the FREE and our cops carry GUNS.
(fellow bloggers: don't ask what that means, it's just saturday siliness)
Posted on May 6, 2006 6:29 AM
Three close calls on the streets of my little town and you get three guesses as to what the idiots who pulled out, backed out or ran the stop sign were doing, and the first two don't count.
The town I live in is small compared to G'boro, or Asheville but at one intersection I observed that out of the 15 vehicles that passed through the traffic signal, 9 were yakking away on a cell phone while trying to navigate a turn. What are these folks thinking? Ooops , I just answered my own question.
The writer is correct, be very careful in the "big box" parking lots. People can't even move out of a parking space without sticking a phone in their ear. I could suggest another place for it to be stuck or perhaps two phones, one stuck in each place and then they could impress others and talk to themselves at the same time.
Posted on May 6, 2006 9:50 AM
I was t-boned by a woman in an suv talking on a cell phone. I got out of my own car and walked up to hers. She was still talking on the phone and held her hand up to indicate that she'd be finished in a minute. When she finished her conversation she rolled down the window and said "I'll call 911 now." She just didn't get it!
Posted on May 6, 2006 10:38 AM
The part that was edited out of my letter, refered to a European study that showed talking on a cell phone, either with or without a hand-free, is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. That's why cell use is so restricted in Britain and most parts of Europe and many US states.
I guess the N&R would prefer an emotional plea over a statistical argument.
Either way... get off the phone and drive!
Posted on May 6, 2006 12:24 PM
I nearly got ran over IN a big-box store by a lady pushing a shopping cart while talking on a cell phone!
I also remember 30 years ago when CB radios were so present. However, I never recall the number of hits and near hits due to those devices as there have been with cell phones.
Enough said.
Shalom
Posted on May 6, 2006 3:41 PM