The big study on distracted driving makes some interesting conclusions about what causes a significant number of crashes on our roads and highways, but it raises some questions, too. The study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration puts cameras into the vehicles of those willing to be part of the test. They were paid a small amount for the inconvenience, but that probably didn?t make much of a difference. Many of those vehicles were in cars being driven up the very busy and very congested (15 to 20 miles of stop-and-go traffic every morning!) Interstate 95 corridor out of Virginia into Washington.
The study found that distracted driving caused 80 percent of all the crashes. Is that eight out of 10, or is it 800 out of 1,000? The scale of the study may have some significance, though I seem to recall that the number of people involved was in the hundreds. Distracted driving because of cell phone use contributed to about 7 percent of those crashes. I’m sure that?s not as many as people expected, because talking on the phone has been the poster child of distracted driving for some time.
Were these people putting on makeup or reading while driving, though they knew a camera was watching them? If so, what does that say? Were these people who lived so far away because of housing prices and related sprawl that they didn’t have enough time to do all the things that needed to be done before they left their homes? This study provides a very good benchmark for future studies, but there may be a lot more than meets the eye.
In our first week here at The Baltimore Examiner, we talked about some neat technologies that were out there that might make things a bit easier for us.
One of the things mentioned was the program in North Carolina that allows people to find and reserve a parking space on the Internet before leaving for an event. Wouldn?t it be nice to have that around here? Lo and behold, a company based in Bowie is doing just that. In fact, MobileParking LLC is not just providing the servicein Baltimore but all across the country. The thing I like about it is that you can use it just once or all the time. There is no membership or start-up fee, which might make it a tougher decision. The company makes its money by charging $1.75 each time it is used to book a space. I don?t know about you, but that’s cheap for the comfort of knowing that when I go downtown I’ve got a space waiting for me in a particular lot. Because the Web site (www.mobileparking.com) asks for a credit card number up front, I didn’t go into it to find out how many spaces are available. I will use it the next time I go to Camden Yards though. If you use it between now and then, write to me and let the readers know how the system works and whether you feel it’s worth the effort.
You can contact Steve Eldridge with your thoughts, ideas and questions by writing to: [email protected]. Only your first name will be used if your letter is published and e-mails will only be forwarded for response with your permission.
