If anyone needs a sobering reminder that getting behind the wheel of a car isn't something to be taken lightly, please talk to Dom Tiberi.
Tiberi, a longtime 10TV sportscaster, is spreading that word, along with a message that doing anything else while driving is an invitation for disaster.
He knows of which he speaks. His daughter, Maria, was killed in a crash, possibly while distracted somehow. Distracted driving isn't just texting or talking on the phone; it can be anything from eating to changing a radio station. It's amazing what drivers believe they can accomplish while driving.
The website www.distraction.gov estimates that more than 3,300 people were killed in distracted-driving crashes in 2011 and 2012 and an estimated 421,000 were injured in 2012 alone. And while texting while driving is illegal, it's difficult to enforce, and other methods are virtually impossible to enforce, if they're technically illegal at all.
No, this has to be a matter of personal responsibility. No law is going to magically ensure that drivers are paying attention while guiding thousands of pounds of steel along the roads.
It doesn't take much distraction to miss something important at that speed. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that it's particularly important to watch out for motorcycles. As the weather has improved in recent weeks, the number of motorcycles on the road has grown quickly. Two local teenagers were hurt last month when a car turned in front of them on U.S. 33, changing their lives forever. While impairment, rather than distraction, is suspected in that case, in many ways it amounts to the same thing.
Most of us wouldn't drink and drive, after all. Such impairment slows our reaction times, which leads to more crashes. Our reaction times are slowed when we're distracted by something else, too; how is that truly any different?
The next time you get behind the wheel, please keep that in mind, for the sake of you, your loved ones and fellow drivers. Stay safe.