I've soooo got to get a new cell phone with a camera.. In keeping with yesterday's theme of cell phone use while driving, let me tell you what I saw Saturday night. I've seen some very bizarre things on my way to and from Slugger Field for the Saturday night Bats ballgames, and this past Saturday night was no exception. I passed by one of the horse-drawn carriages going down Main Street, and the carriage driver was talking on her cell phone as she was holding on the reins. She wasn't holding the phone with one hand and the reins with the other hand; she had the small cell phone cradled to her ear with her shoulder. I'm no carriage driving expert, but I think that's probably even more dangerous than your average automobile driving cell phone user. At least they can hold the phone with one hand and steer with the other (unless they're driving a stick-shift car, then it becomse a bit tricky).
After sitting in a straight-back chair just to prove my point, when I cradled my cell phone with my shoulder, I couldn't turn my head. It's the same way for the carriage driver - when they're cradling a cell phone, they can't turn their head to see traffic in the other lanes around them. I didn't notice any side or rear view mirrors on the carriage, either. And the horse had on blinders, so he was no help. So they're just out there on their own if they want to change lanes. Thank goodness the carriages aren't operating during rush hour traffic; that's just an accident waiting to happen.
1 comment:
Call me old fashioned but I miss the days of the mouse-size pager that verbally alerted one to an important message and displayed a telephone number. Dodging downtown traffic as a pedestrian is treacherous enough but it would seem the carriage driver would respect the safety of the horse and refrain from using the cellphone while the animal is in his/her control.
Post a Comment