Distracted Drivers
Would you please turn down the radio! My father’s words still ring in my ears from my high school days when I’d listen to Cheech and Chong … “Dave’s not here…” And Iron Butterfly’s “Innagadadavida.” We’d spin the disc backwards on the turntable (they called it an “album” then) because we were told that there was a secret message revealed. And there was, it said “clean your room and get a job, and stop living in your parents basement like a loser.” Oh, and it also said “Dave’s not here, man…”
My dad’s Toronado and Oldsmobiles came with an 8-Track tape in STEREO which featured such corny songs as “Popcorn” (the goofiest song ever), Ed Ames’ “Cherish”, and other songs by such notables as Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck (who the heck would name their child that unless they just really hate kids?).
Everyone knows that crashes kill more teens than anything else. And distracted drivers along with drunken driving are leading causes of traffic deaths. That’s why teens have restrictions on them when they first receive a driver license. They have a curfew, no text messaging or talking on the phone, and not more than one non-family member in the car at one time (they just want you to kill one friend at a time…not all of them at once). A 2008 study by Erie Indemnity, a Pennsylvania insurance carrier shows that 93 percent of teen drivers play loud, distracting music behind the wheel. Furthermore, in 2001 a study conducted in Canada shows that reaction time slows as much as 20 percent when someone is subjected to loud volume, causing a potentially fatal delay for drivers.
So, distracted drivers, you may want to turn the radio down when you’re driving if you want to live longer. You may also take into consideration that your jamming tune may be louder than the ambulance that is coming up behind you or louder than the horn that the guy who is “sharing” the lane with you may also cause you to crash. Did you even think about that? What?? You need me to repeat that? You can’t hear what I’m saying??? I’m not surprised.
Until next week….
Daun Thompson
Comedienne / Artist / Writer
Distracted Drivers “Turn The Radio Down” – Comedy Defensive Driving
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