There are those of us who by nature are more curious than others. More interested. Perhaps more inquisitive. Or maybe just nosy.
Those who are, may casually glance into lit windows as they pass by homes on an evening stroll, peek into others’ shopping carts at the grocery store or eavesdrop on nearby conversations.
Those who do such things run a risk of seeing and learning things they may otherwise not choose to see or know.
I found myself in such a position last weekend as I lumbered southbound on I-95 on a bus headed for Boston.
It had been a while since I had been on a bus, and I guess other times I was distracted by companions. Last week I sat alone and while a movie and a crossword puzzle occupied me for a time, I found myself with ample opportunity to simply stare out the window and directly down into people’s cars.
It was a perfect view. I could see what they were wearing, where their hands were and what they were drinking and eating as they drove.
Not terribly exciting actually, but soon a disturbing trend emerged.
People texting while driving.
I admit to being among those who on occasion drive while talking on my cell phone. I know it’s not a good practice, and I am conscious of it and try to limit how often I do it.
But the number of people I saw texting and reading text messages while driving astounded me.
My four-hour trip each way, while not a scientific study, strongly suggested to me that the national uproar and concern over driving while texting (DWT) is a legitimate one.
The most stunning example?
A middle-aged woman, texting with her right hand, holding a lit cigarette with her left and sort of steering with her wrists, while driving at about 65 mph in four-lanes of Boston traffic while being passed on the left by a freakin’ bus.
Maine has a law prohibiting people under the age of 18 from texting while driving.
Last week North Carolina became the 14th state in the country to pass a law prohibiting it altogether.
Opponents to such laws argue that states already have laws prohibiting reckless driving and that additional laws are not needed.
If so, they suggest, then we should have a law banning women from applying makeup while driving or people from watching TV while driving, which certainly do occur on occasion.
But my spontaneous and unscientific little experiment, as well as formal national studies, indicate that texting while driving has become so commonplace that it warrants a law of its very own.
If you follow the arguments of the opponents of such laws, you could argue that drunken driving laws are unnecessary because they, too, could be considered covered under the reckless driving laws.
A study released this week by an insurance company found that texting while driving was as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
A recent study by the Automobile Association of America showed that texting while driving increases the risk of a car accident by 50 percent and that for every two seconds a driver’s eyes are off the road a motorist is twice as likely to be involved in a crash.
On Monday, the day after I returned from Boston, the Massachusetts state Senate killed a bill that would have made texting while driving illegal.
Guess that’s a good thing for the crazy middle-aged woman in the black Lincoln Navigator that my bus passed last weekend.
The numbers of people killed in crashes involving text messaging while driving are going to continue to climb and eventually every state will outlaw it. In the meantime, (while lawmakers catch on) there are other avenues that could assist in encouraging voluntary compliance. Most obvious is insurance plans.
Long before the state passed a mandatory seat belt law, many insurance companies had clauses that specified that certain benefits would not be paid if the insured person was not wearing a seat belt at the time of an auto accident.
Similar stipulations should be enacted for crashes that occur while the insured is driving while texting.
Since it is often people conducting essential business while texting and driving, responsible businesses should consider prohibiting the practice.
I don’t want the government or nosy neighbors peeking too closely into my lit windows at night, but after that Boston bus trip, I’m strongly thinking that I might not mind just a little bit more awareness about what is happening on the roads we are all driving on.