Now I know the peril of cell-phoning from one’s car. And I’ve lived to tell the tale. Barely. The problem is not that we’re pretty competent at using the cell phone—it’s that once-every-10-years moment-of-truth. Was driving from VT to Boston yesterday afternoon. Approaching the city, near Concord. (As in Lexington and …) Calling Susan, to coordinate my arrival.
Then …
About 500 (?) yards in front of me, out of the blue (and the sky was blue), a guy simply spins out of control, does 2 or 3 360s. He ended up hanging from an embankment. I ended up undamaged (car or body) on the other side of the 4-lane road.
That is, nothing happened.
But the plain fact is that I did my evasion bit a fraction of a second, or a second or even 2 seconds, later than I would have had I not been phoning.
I escaped.
This time.
Lesson here?
(And don’t give me the “hands-free” equipment retort! I WAS DISTRACTED. PERIOD. AND I AM ALMOST NOT WRITING THIS AS A RESULT.)