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Why should you care about distracted driving?
It was a gorgeous summer day. But it was Sunday, both my wife and I had to work the next day. We wanted to stay another day at the river, but it was time to go. We packed up, slowly, probably hoping we’d get some miracle call that someone had canceled work. No one called, so we headed home. I always drive home from the river. My wife rides in the front passenger seat, our son is in back. The two dogs are way in back. After 15 miles on paved country roads, we made it to route 360. From there we take Interstate 295 to Route 301, merge with 95 for a few miles, then we’re on 195. That’s where the problem started. The roads were wet from a quick afternoon thunderstorm on 195. I was listening to the radio as I drove turning slightly left, then right on the curvy above ground road coming into Richmond. A maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee passed on the right and after turning a sharp left, then hard right, the Jeep was 100 feet in front of my car, on two wheels, looking like it might turn over. I made a split second decision. I slowed, and turned slightly left hoping to miss the Jeep. Luckily, the Jeep came down on all four wheels and spun around. I missed it. There was no crash, no injuries. Reflecting later, this driver was clearly distracted. It’s why she was forced to over-correct. Wet roads didn’t help. 65-percent of near crashes are caused by distracted driving. I wasn’t distracted. I was paying attention to the road. I was listening to the radio, but my focus was where it needed to be and still, I barely avoided this near crash. Why should you care about distracted driving? Because you never know when it might happen to you.