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Dr. Del Tackett is the author, architect and teacher for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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DWT—And Other Dangerous Driving Impairments
Posted on August 13, 2009
Filed Under Personal, The State |
This may be happening in your state—new laws that make it illegal to text while driving, DWT (my acronym). Colorado recently passed legislation to impose a fine on mobile texters (or is it “textors”? I know it isn’t “textites”).
I’m not sure what to make of this.
I normally think that we have slipped precariously into the mode that we believe the state should not only provide most everything for us but it should save us from all things bad. Much like I recall a woman in Cuba several years ago when a very large hurricane was headed their way. She said she wasn’t worried because “Fidel saves us from all bad things. He will not let this hurricane hurt us.” Now, it turns out that the hurricane did divert from Cuba, but I seriously doubt that Fidel had anything to do with it. However, even though her comment may seem silly to most of us, we have essentially come to the same position…we are just more sophisticated in how we express it.
But, this law against texting while in command of a 3000-pound missile filled with explosive fuel may have some merit.
I’m personally involved in this.
I run every morning. When you do that on a narrow county road and there is little room on the shoulders for pedestrians, it turns my early jogs into a vigilant defensive mission. I make eye contact with every driver headed my way. I want to know if they see me and if so, do they have good intentions. Most do, of course and many move well over to give me some space. I always give them a grateful raise of the hand & arm to thank them. I often get a wave in return.
But, if they don’t see me, or aren’t looking at me, I get ready to make my best avoidance maneuver—realizing that 190 pounds versus 3,000 pounds (or more) would end up in the “not good” category for me if I failed to dodge well.
I almost didn’t this morning.
The sun had just come up and I saw the guy, visor down, body stretched up high to get his eyes shaded from the low rays. I could tell he was fighting it. I was watching him the whole way, but he was doing fine so I wasn’t too worried. Then, just 20 yards away, I saw him lean to his right and reach for something in the passenger seat. That’s when his front tire dropped off the pavement and right into my world. I only had enough time to move one step to the left, but I guess it was just enough—I’m almost certain I felt his side mirror clip my shirtsleeve.
These are things that help you wake up in the morning!
Since I’ve been doing this early routine for a long time, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it all—and I can tell when someone is texting. I don’t know if Colorado’s Finest will be able to recognize it and pull you over for a ticket, but I certainly can…I can see them looking down, then briefly up, then down, then up, then down for a long time. Their heads are tilted in a funny way—a unique angle, slightly to the right and down about 20 degrees.
They are…Driving While Texting, DWT!
When I see someone texting, I go on red alert. I agree that it is dangerous. Not only because their eyes are diverted, but because their mind is as well. For all I know, they are engrossed in sending a love note to their sweet pea, telling them they miss them so much & love them madly; or they’re texting instructions to put in a million dollar bid on a piece of property; or, I kid you not because I actually saw this—they are taking their picture while driving and then probably texting it to a friend: “Hi! This is me as I am running over a jogger with slow reflexes!”
However, that is not the only dangerous activity I’ve seen. There are a bunch more. Some equally dangerous and others I think even more so. Begs the question…is DWT really the end of the laws to save us from ourselves?
So, tomorrow I’m going to contribute to this discussion with my top 10 things drivers do that are dangerous…including my personal favorite, DWP…Driving While Primping!
(to be continued…)
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29 Responses to “DWT—And Other Dangerous Driving Impairments”
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I live in New York (state, not the city) and I think they are trying to implement a no texting while driving law here as well. The points you brought up about why it shouldn’t be done are right on.
I think it’s funny though. They have a law in NY about not using a phone while driving (unless you have hands free). They’re talking about the no texting while driving law. But there’s no law to prevent those folks with Nextel/Spring phones from “beep beeping” other people. It’s just about like talking on a phone so I’m not sure why that isn’t considered illegal either.
Anyway, I think you make a good point too about how there are many other things that are dangerous to do while driving aside from phone-related things. I look forward to seeing your list!
I’ve recently come across a new phenomenon - the drivers who stop at green lights. And, I don’t mean the driver who just hasn’t noticed that the light changed to green. It happened this morning, 3 cars went through but driver #4 stopped at the green light. He/she then realized it was green and went but not before the rest of us who were paying attention got stuck at the now red light. DWT might be involved but I’m beginning to think that it might be something else.
Why do we have to specify each little thing. We could simply say “you’re in control, you’re responsible”.
Someone will say, “It wasn’t my fault, you didn’t tell me not to DWT!”.
But now we have the opposite. Since we have started specifying things, it gives more ammunition to the person who will say “I didn’t know I shouldn’t argue with my wife while driving” or “I didn’t know I shouldn’t talk to the kids…” and the list goes on and on.
But let’s get back to God. One of Del’s cohorts at Focus, Suzanne Hadley blogging about purity, made the point it’s a heart issue. We say “I can kiss but no French” or “Look but don’t touch” because we are always looking for the line. God forbid we should pass up an opportunity that wasn’t technically sin.
Maybe, just maybe, if our heart were leaned toward God, and our mind toward the safety of morning joggers…..
Aaaahh, selfless responsibility, what a concept.
It’s easy to add to the list:
Driving while:
- shaving (we’re talking wet shaving with a bowl of water balancing on the dashboard as the gentleman was negotiating a 2-lane highway rotary)
- playing the flute
- reading a book (once the title print was large enough to reveal “Guide to First Aid”) - at 60 mph.
- reading a full-sized newspaper
However, all of these are already covered under existing laws (as is texting). One major pitfall of explicitly outlawing certain actions is that people will soon assume that everything that’s not specifically listed is fine.
I agree with MarkS, Selfless Responsibily is what it takes. Why in the world should we have to be told not to talk on our cell phones or text while driving. It is terribly dangerous. 16 year olds already aren’t good drivers, now give them a cell phone. Crazy, I’ll just remain a hermit thanks!
Don’t Tread on Me.
good pun for your story, but it fits also. We have laws for driving while distracted. That is all that is needed. If the person can eat a hamburger, text his wife, and put on his clown makeup all while driving the car and not get in an accident, then great for him. Someone else may not be able to drive well because they are listening to talk radio. When you get in an accident then it does not matter how you got distracted, but just that you were distracted and you caused an accident. Time to pay the piper. Until you start driving poorly, no crime has been committed.
I agree with all those who are advocating personal responsibility over a detailed list. If we need a deterrent to irresponsible behavior, we need to make the consequences unacceptable to potential perpetrators.
After all, these same drivers wouldn’t get out of their cars in the middle of a biker gang and yell, “You’re all a bunch of sissies who couldn’t fight your way out of a wet paper bag!”
Why not? Because the consequences are unacceptable!
be careful, not only the testors and primpers are after you, but the speeding passers are the ones that can get you and any one close as the pass on the hill and across the double yellows. Be Safe….”73 grad”
Spot on. All we need is a law of personal responsibility: you cause an accident by driving a car negligently, you pay the cost. The cost may be in terms of damages, your freedom to drive, or freedom not to be in jail, but that’s all we need.
DWT laws come from an assumption that “we the people” are, in general, too stupid to figure out what responsibility means. There will ALWAYS be instances to point at to say “see, he didn’t know”, but that doesn’t mean everyone should have their liberty diminished. I would rather trust people, in general, than the government to figure out what “responsible” means in the myriad of current scenarios and evolving future ones.
I think the purpose of the laws is to make the lawmaker feel and/or look good. Don’t most states have a “careless & imprudent driving” classification where a patrolman can pull you off the road if you are acting in an unsafe manner. Why do we need the specific laws, penalizing only one specific behavior. Hey if you see me letting my dog drive, whether there’s a law or not, pull me over!
Your DWT story caused me to reflect on my experience at church 3 days ago. I propose another new acronym - TWIC - Texting While In Church or TWAC - … AT church. On August 16th, I met my first TWICer (or TWACer) …whatever! A young lady sitting next to me took out her phone and began texting during the pastor’s opening remarks. The recipient was another young woman seated aboutn 3 rows in front of us (They were late arrivals and had been separated due to limited seating.)
At the start of the opening hymn, the texting stopped. But during the offering time, it again started. Then, as the pastor moved into his sermon, the phone again was put down on the seat. At last, I thought, she had come to her senses. However, just as the pastor moved into the “tell ‘em what you told ‘em” phase of the sermon, texting began again.
I suggested to the pastor that he might consider a sermon on the topic “Texting while driving may be hazardous to your health, but texting during the sermon is hazardous to your salvation!”
To many things these days (and years) are being relegated to the judicial system of laws, but we fail to remember that we can be self governing. It’s called responsibility to our fellow man. Being a good example. Common Sense seems to have left the building. We all think that we are the one exception, that nothing can happen to me. The law of physics seems to abandon our situations. I know too well the circumstances you speak of. I had a friend from high school who was killed by a drunk driver. There have been studies done equating texting and dialing on the phone while driving as being the same or worse than that of driving while intoxicated. Be careful on the side of the road. Happy running!
I have seen people reading a book while driving, And the other day I seen somthing I have never seen before a woman driving while working a laptop computer !
Here in Western New York a couple weeks ago, a driver for a towing company was “driving” one of his company’s trucks while talking on one cell phone and texting on a second one. He drove off the road, hit at least one parked car, a house, and then ended up in an in-ground pool. Needless to say the news media was all over the cell phone usage. Thankfully no one was seriously injured and I hope the driver learned an important lesson. I agree with the others — selfless responsibility is not something our culture promotes, but is desperately needed.
But then what about if they hit and kill someone while TWD? No matter what the consequences to the offender, some mother lost a son (or daughter).
I find all these distractions while driving a simple case of selfishness. Why can’t we live by the Golden Rule? Families can be changed forever in an instance when we don’t love our fellow man enough to be diligent while driving. With the blessing of having a vehicle and the ability to drive, comes the responsibility. God’s Holy Word has taught us that over and over again.
Any vehicle capable of killing another human being is a “loaded” weapon as far as I am concerned. There should be many laws that prohibit us from endangering society while driving. But how sad it is that government has to “enforce” that we love our neighbor as God intended.
Del, I have learned to find a quiet neighborhood that doesn’t have many dogs and very little traffic and I run back and forth on a limited amount of space. It’s not as scenic, but it sure is a lot safer.
Del,
I as well agree with “selfless responsibility”. It also goes along with WWJD. As a driver, we are held responsible for our actions AND the actions of the vehicle we are driving.
I have been one who drives and talks on a cell phone on a pretty regular basis as I am in my car more than at home. But that is no excuse. Your article has really brought that point to home, thanks Del.
Dear Del, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful and will with the temptation provide a way of escape.”
In the vulgar vernacular of the day, jog somewhere else, not on the highway. Even a treadmill in your own home?
Your Truth Project was and is wonderful. I’m in a second performance with the same problems that became apparent in the first one. Lots of attendance at the video and minimal in the small groups.
It’s good to see you exercise regularly.
As a avid runner, I am glad to see that you also run on the left side of the road, against traffic.
Many roads are lined with solid white lines, which mean, do not cross over. So as a runner I stay just on the outside of the white line. Of course, distracted drivers and many more careless drivers cross over the white lines without any thought or care.
I learned long ago to watch the approaching vehicle’s front left tire. The vehicle will always follow it’s direction.
Saw a driver last afternoon driving slowly on I-25 while reading a book placed across her steering wheel. Maybe we need a law called Reading while driving (RWD). Just kidding about the law…but truly think that there are many distractions and of course we can’t make laws for each. Personal responsibility and accountability probably should be the primary guideline. Making laws does not ensure abiding by them.
I kid you not. I witnessed someone driving on I-95 with a newspaper (full sized) opened across their steering wheel for perusal. It seems we have our priorities in the wrong order and therefore too much crammed into this abundant life God has given.
Finally, someone who agrees with me and believes the same thing! I too always seek eyecontact with the driver, mostly when walking and needing to cross the street. Once eyecontact is established, I act assertively, either by waiting or deliberately making the move to cross the street. Then a small wave with the hand as a thank you, which is most often responded to with a smile! This works 90-95% of the time!! So, the top ten driving impairments really only come into play for the remaining 5-10% when I am not sure eye contact has been established, or something like the sun is shining right into the driver’s eyes, or primping…
If we follow the basic law: seek eyecontact, allow enough time/space for the driver to react, then thank the driver, all the other experiences become secondary, but may be nice discussion topics
yes, we agree with you on the use of cell phones. I use to see a pastor drive out of his driveway reading the paper, I wondered if he died from an accident or a heart attack. When we drive for long distances, I will call my friends while I am sitting by the Driver. This way I don’t “backseat drive” and he gets to hear what I am saying.
While watching Fox News last night, they have a video of a car full of young drivers all texting, and the story plays out quite alarming. is this a way to get the attention of those who TWD what could happen. Not a very pretty picture.
I am not totally innocent, even though I don’t talk on a cell phone, or read a paper, while driving, I have fiddled with the radio or reached for something and been distracted.I am sure most of us have, but like you said, there are not excuses.I have also thanked God most times when I come out of the situation safe. This is a good wake up call, thank you and God Bless. Also, a dangerous situation that I have seen, people who wouldn’t think of driving,even if they could, with children on their laps, but I have seen DOGS! Now tell me that isn’t dangerous.
Wanda
“I normally think that we have slipped precariously into the mode that we believe the state should not only provide most everything for us but it should save us from all things bad.”
I agree that many of our laws fall into the “Government is my savior” category. However, laws like these that protect the innocent, not just the offender, I believe are necessary. Selfless Responsibility is a great concept but hardly enforceable. JJS states: ” When you get in an accident then it does not matter how you got distracted, but just that you were distracted and you caused an accident. Time to pay the piper. Until you start driving poorly, no crime has been committed.” Well, the person who pays the piper is the one injured or killed by the distracted driver.
My husband and I cycle - up to 200 miles per week. We do not have the advantageous of making eye contact or determining whether the driver is attentive or not, because the cars are approaching from behind us. One of our greatest fears are texters and other inattentive drivers who will not see us until it is too late for anyone to dodge.
Robert Winthrop
Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives
Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.
(Source: Robert Winthrop, Addresses and Speeches on Various Occasions (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1852), p. 172 from his “Either by the Bible or the Bayonet.”)
I read books on tape. I tape my book to my steering wheel! On a straight road I can get a lot of reading done.
Stanley I really hope you stop the books. After all you may be on a straight road and in the half second that your eyes drop to get the next couple sentences, Del could come out of his driveway. Then there would be no more Truth Project. How much is our time really worth that we can’t devote it to safety?
JJS, I agree with your sentiment and have always been a minimalist (true conservative). The only change is that I have come to redefine minimal. You see God made judges and didn’t have a problem with it -was His idea. He knew we would have disputes in a fallen world. But as people become more and more selfish, more government is needed. Our forefathers even said that the vacuum they created in Washington was to be filled by an informed active populace. We can apply this to any government action: If people fed the poor there would be no welfare. I don’t like it, but while the Lord punishes us with what we ask for (1 Samuel), He has placed me here amongst this stiff necked people. He will carry me through. In the mean time I have but to pray and lovingly instruct.
Immoral behavior on the part of citizens does not necessarily cause government expansion, since authority is needed for the greatest good of the largest number of people.
However, I am concerned that government’s involvement and control in our lives seems capable of restricting religious freedoms.
Although the real war is our sinful desires which war against our soul. (1 Peter 2:11)