We have a customer that has been driving for 58 years and has never gotten a ticket. Not one for speeding or parking, nothing. He also has never been involved in an accident. When he stops in to chat with Jeff and they have an ongoing conversation about this milestone.
When you watch people on the road today, it's amazing how much driving has changed over the years. When Bob started driving, drivers paid attention to the road. There were no cell phones, GPS technology, Starbucks coffee in the cup holder, no distractions.
We hear all the stories about someone's last text before they crashed their car, or the “almost” accidents when someone chatting on their cell phone cuts another driver off on the road. Sometimes we are that person and understand what we're doing when we look up and realize we weren't paying attention to our driving as much as we thought we were.
I read something when I was a teenager that said you should drive as if every car on the road was out to hit you. Defensive driving requires eyes on the road. I've been guilty of paying attention to something else in my car or reaching for my cell phone whenever I have a text. We all have this idea that we are the exception and that we’re perfectly capable of multitasking and doing several things at once. Research shows that we don't actually multi-task but switch our attention rapidly from one task to another. If you are texting, you are not paying attention to your driving. You may think you are but you're not.
Bob has reminded me that our job on the road is to drive. Not schedule appointments, take selfies or post to Facebook and Instagram. Ironically, if I answer a text from one of my kids or my husband while driving I put myself and those on the road at risk. Somehow we managed our lives before cellphones, and we should revert back to that time when in the car.
Congratulations to Bob on a stellar driving record. He's a good reminder of what you can accomplish by being a responsible driver.