Distracted driving poses a clear and present danger
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Teenagers who flirt with danger by texting and driving may be obvious examples of distracted drivers, but other motorists shouldn't be smug.
As car manufacturers install more high-tech gadgets, those in-dash screens and satellite radios combine with phone calls, noisy children or the bumblebee that just flew in the window to compete for a driver's attention.
The issue of distracted driving became horrifyingly personal in 2006 for author and reporter Martin Spinelli. A car driven by his wife, Sasha, was struck by a drowsy driver; she was killed and their 4-year-old son, Lio, was severely injured.
Spinelli summoned the painful memory in a June 2012 article in The Scotsman: "The moment I saw Lio in intensive care everything just evaporated. My previous life just disappeared and there was just me and Lio in the hospital bed."
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What should motorists do to minimize the risks?
Jeff Hickman, a scholar who does research on distracted driving at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, offered this piece of advice: "Turning off your phone is probably best thing to do."
LEARN MORE ABOUT DISTRACTED DRIVING:
Martin Spinelli with son Lio on ITV's 'This Morning' talking about 'After the Crash'
• 8 tips to stop your teen's texting and driving habit
"Distracted drivers killed more than 3,000 people in car crashes in 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration." (MPR)
• Teen driver resists the texting temptation
"You can make a mistake in a split second and regret [it], so texting definitely should not go with driving." (MPR)
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