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.)