Driving–Into Others–While on Your Blackberry

I’m sure many of us have done it, tapping on a cellphone, mp3 player, or other mobile device while driving. But there are costs to being wired and distracted while traveling, and we should avoid these dangerous activities when we’re in control of several tons of steel.

A Washington man driving in the express lanes on I-5 near Seattle caused a chain-reaction car collision yesterday, after failing to notice traffic in front of him had stopped. The reason? He was tapping away on his Blackberry.

By some strange luck, no one was seriously injured, although the collisions involved 28 passengers on a bus plus four cars. Folks: let’s set the cellphone, Blackberry, and iPod aside while behind the wheel, please. While we’re at it, let’s put away the make-up and newspaper, too. Driving, like traveling, requires our attention: “A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”