accident Archives - Comedy Defensive Driving®

A Force To Be Reckoned With – Women Drivers

Daun Thompson — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:40:00 +0000

Men always give women drivers a bad rap. Our driving is a form of entertainment for most guys out there. There are countless jokes and stories about women drivers. In fact, I just heard one today. This man is watching the news and the top breaking news story is about a car traveling down the wrong side of the freeway. This is the same freeway his wife takes home from work. Do you already see where this is going? So, worried for his wife’s well being, he calls to warn her about what he’d seen on the news. He says “Be careful, apparently there’s a car driving down the wrong side of the freeway.” She replies “I don’t know what part of the freeway you are referring to, but there are hundreds of them driving on the wrong side of the freeway where I am.”

I am told that women don’t take driving as seriously as men. So here’s a good argument to chew on, what about the female racing drivers of NASCAR? There are entirely too many of them to mention here, but how about Danica Patrick, Susie Stoddart and Deborah Parker. Oh, and let’s not forget about the Force sisters, Ashley and Courtney. Ashley Force is the first woman to ever win an NHRA event title in the funny car listing. A Force to be reckoned with (pun intended)…heck, she even beat her own father, John, in that very race. And he’s a 14-time Powerade Champion. I don’t even know what that means. I’m just an ordinary girl and an ordinary driver. And I don’t even like to drive. Some people love road trips, while I love planes and taxis. My parents will get in the car and drive from Chicago to Florida in one day. And they enjoy the trip every time. Not me. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

What I have read about male v.s. women drivers is basically that, while women drivers do get their fair share of speeding tickets, the male drivers usually get ticketed at a higher speed. Men are considered more attentive and focused while driving than women drivers. Unless, of course, there is a girl within viewing range, then that theory goes right out the window.

I know a few women who are the drivers in their relationships. Like my parents’ neighbors. The husband lost his license when he got a DWI, so his wife has to drive him everywhere. She said he always complained that she drives him to drink…and now she has to. So, maybe she’s not only the driver in their relationship, but the designated driver as well.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Comedienne / Writer / Artist

Women Drivers – Comedy Defensive Driving

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NECKBEARDS ARE DISTRACTING

Daun Thompson — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:50:13 +0000

I learned a new word today, neckbeard. A neckbeard is apparently the result of being too busy to be bothered with grooming. At the cost of razor cartridges, I must admit I have considered the legbeard and even beardpits (sounds like a legendary pirate, doesn’t it?…arrrgh). But, it’s not a very Disney-esque visual, is it. My daughter turned me onto that new word. She also added that guys who “don” neckbeards are typically basement dwellers (another new word to me). These are basement dwelling geeks who live with their parents and reside in their basement. Where they play video games all day long and eat cold pizza. You know…like the stay-at-home-son from Hangover 2.
What does this have to do with defensive driving you ask? I was driving my daughter when she screamed “Look! A neckbeard…ewww!” And me, like a dope, nearly broke my spleen trying to catch a glimpse of the bearsquatch (that’s my own word…and you’ll probably see it on Wikipedia tomorrow). And I nearly rear-ended the car ahead of me. I’m talking about distractions while driving. And people wonder why they consider talking on the phone a distraction. Some people believe that there’s no difference between having someone in the car talking to you and taking on the phone. But, even if you are talking to that person hands free, you are still not completely engaged in the driving process. You are not completely focused on that very important task at hand…driving. And, the person on the other end of the line cannot see what is going on around your car while you’re talking to them, so they won’t know when you need to focus to avoid an accident. Like my daughter who was with me in the car and acted much like someone on the other end of the phone…clueless. I had to remind her that she needs to be sure not to do this when she is riding in the car with one of her peers (or me). And, to not follow my example of rubbernecking and nearly causing an accident. That’s probably a good reason to limit how many friends your new driver has in the car with them. Less distractions mean less accidents. And, one reason they do not allow a new driver to have more than one non-family member in the car (plus, I suppose they only want you to kill one friend at a time…not all of them at once). So, it’s not always the driver that is doing things to distract themselves, sometimes it’s the passengers in the car who create the biggest distractions.
That’s when duct tape comes in handy. It comes in kid-friendly pastel colors, too.
Until next week…
Daun Thompson

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TEXTING IS A TRIPLE THREAT

Daun Thompson — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:11:35 +0000

Of all the distractions while driving, texting is numero uno. It happens to be the one that’s raising the greatest rage among safety researchers, industry critics, auto companies and federal and state regulators. Texting is taking lives, and that is provoking national outrage which is resulting in new laws and safety campaigns nationwide.
I remember when Oprah Winfrey went to the emotional heart of the issue with the launch of her “No Phone Zone” campaign in 2010. None of her employees at Harpo were allowed to text while driving and were given contracts to sign that would hold them to it.
True, there are a mulititude of distractions in the car. Eating (driving with your knees while eating a Big Mac). Changing a CD or radio station is very distracting. Men complain that women applying makeup in the car is exceptionally distracting (come on, it’s not always just women). On the other hand, women complain that men shave while driving. GPS, talking on the phone, swinging at your kids while driving are just a few more distractions in the car.
But texting while driving has a particular power to distract because it’s an activity that has visual, manual and cognitive components. A triple threat! It requires drivers to look at something other than the road, do something other than handle the wheel and think about something other than driving the car. In other words, texting involves three categories that involve major driver distraction.
Another thing to consider, you have 3 seconds to respond as a driver in an emergency.

When you text, your eyes are off the road by 10 times that. And texting’s primary danger is that it is a visual distraction. You can’t drive without looking at the road regardless of how high or low the cognitive demand is (unless you’re Stevie Wonder).
Safety regulators and researchers say texting while driving is more of a concern than other in-car distractions. Texting is widespread, particularly among young drivers who lack experience. Texting is also more distracting than many other driver activities.
According to CTIA, The Wireless Association, people sent or received 5.9 billion text messages every day in 2010. Many of them from behind the wheel of a car. About one-eighth of all drivers reported texting while driving, according to a study on driver distraction conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).
Some states are reacting by making texting illegal. As of June, 34 states had enacted texting bans for all drivers. An additional 7 states prohibit texting by new drivers.And, in a survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the majority of drivers who admitted texting were between 18 and 29. That means the biggest offenders were also less experienced drivers. My teenage daughter can text and not even look at the phone while she’s doing it. We’ll be having a conversation at the dinner table and she’ll be looking me right in the eyes while she’s texting someone. Her phone is under the table. She calls it multitasking. I call it grounded. It’s just rude. I don’t text and drive. Not because I’m smart enough to, I’m just not coordinated enough to. I have tried it and I could totally take out famillies so I don’t do it.

Texting video!

Until next week…don’t text and drive…or you could find yourself with a phone in one hand and a ticket in the other

Daun Thompson

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