On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:39:10 -0500, dhall987 wrote:

Clearly I was equating having to suck a hard candy to escape thirst
while driving or actually not being able to listen to the radio and
drive at the same time and defining that as a requirement for "driving
attentively" as being similar to deciding to force oneself to stay in
their home for 15 years in order to avoid normal dangers that do, in
fact, exist outside the home. I do not feel that I was on any tangent
or that I had no point. It seems to be the type of extremism that
keeps valid safety laws (like no texting while driving) from being
passed. Clearly I personally do not find anything wrong or even
slightly out of place with having a drink (non-alcaholic of course)
while I drive. I have a decent OEM stereo in my truck and actually
play it while I drive. I have even been known to eat a potato chip or
even a sandwich while driving down interstate. So yes, I do think that
taking an extreme position on absolutely no "distractions" (as you
have defined them) while drviing to be a mild to middling phobia.

Funny thing is that on a long drive you are probably more attentive
and less accident-prone if you have some snacks and a slurp of coffee
or something while you are driving. Except in dense traffic areas
driving does not engage anything like a majority of your cognitive
functions, so the mind tends to wander. I am much more attentive in
light, open-road travel if I am talking to someone than if I am just
watching the dotted lines go by.

It's not as simple as everyone wants to make it....

Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com

Definition of a teenager: God's punishment for enjoying sex.