Are You an Attentive Driver?

Society pays intense attention to the problem of drunk driving but less attention to another dangerous practice: distracted driving.

Driving distracted can result in damage and even death. Both outer and inner distractions can cause accidents. Some distractions can include:

• Texting or talking on a cell phone

Especially with touch-screen phones, texting requires extended glances at a phone. Every second spent looking at a phone is a second not looking at the cars around you. Many states are beginning to outlaw texting while driving and are imposing serious fines on violators.

• Eating

It is important to have a snack, and especially water, nearby when you are driving. However, it’s important not to become overly occupied with food or drink while driving. Messy foods are especially distracting, and no one wants to get in a wreck over a hamburger.

• Loud passengers

Traveling with friends and family can be a wonderful, fun experience, but loud passengers can make it difficult for the driver to concentrate. Drivers, don’t hesitate to ask passengers to quiet down. Passengers, be polite.

•  Music

At times, driving  is a solitary, lonely thing, especially on long trips. Virtually every car has an audio system for your enjoyment. However, like food, enjoy music but do not overindulge. Do you really want to explain to a policeman that you rear-ended that nice lady because you were rocking out to heavy metal?

• Putting on make-up or shaving

These get-ready chores are often put off as things to do in-transit. Make-up especially causes a problem for drivers, since it usually requires a mirror, and that means looking away from the road. Take the extra minutes at home to perform these steps before you start driving.

•  Activity on the road–car wrecks, construction, other drivers, pedestrians

Drivers must constantly stay alert for out of the ordinary things around them and ahead of them. Watch and be alert.

While these can certainly make concentrating on driving difficult, distracted driving can also come from inside the driver:

• Worrying about something

Distractions such as these are every bit as dangerous as outer distractions. A driver focused on a situation at work or a problem at home can’t pay full attention to the road and possible hazards.

• Anger

Anger can not only distract someone from paying attention to the road, but can also lead to road rage and ensuing accidents.

• Sleepiness

Driving while drowsy is extremely dangerous. Drivers should never forget that they are operating a 1,500 lb or more machine. A car can go from vehicle to battering ram in a blink of an eye. If you are driving and feel sleepy, switch with a passenger. If you are alone, pull over into a parking lot or the shoulder of the road and nap for 10 or 15 minutes. It will be worth the time.

It’s a miraculous thing: a machine that gets you where you want to go, and quickly. Be safe getting there so you can enjoy being there.

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Cool “Eco-Tourism” Ideas for Homesteaders

I’ve been looking around at vacation ideas, delighted to discover a nifty partnership and grant program involving folks like the Ag department, the cooperative extension services, the park and forest services and even state and local arts councils, which they’re cleverly calling “Agritourism”. It’s really quite the innovative way to put some capital and ideas to work in the rural sector. Innovative, that is, unless you’re old enough to remember the Great Depression and FDR’s New Deal.

I know that a lot of committed homesteaders spend their vacation time working on the ‘stead instead of jaunting off to ski in Switzerland or tromping through the Amazon, but it’s really nice to take a few days off and at least get off the property for awhile. And the best part of supporting initiatives like agritourism is that it’s really, truly Green!

Even better, it’s Green without costing a bundle. It always seems kind of funny to me when things show up in my searches (this time it was “green vacations”) that simply don’t apply to anybody I know or hope to know in the idle rich jet-setter category. Ah, well. Maybe “Green” jet-setting is a new fad like bottled water – you know, the dumb things people do to look really cool without a thought to whether it’s actually cool or not. For instance…

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Filed under Activities, Agritourism, Conservation, Family, Future Planning, Rural Development, Vacations | Comment (1)