Car Talk

As a listener of your show and a news reporter, I felt the following piece of news from the Hawkeye State might interest you.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Lundgren
Hampton, IA

A recent piece of legislation has drawn unexpected attention in the Iowa House of Representatives. State Representative Bill Dix (R-Shell Rock) has introduced a bill in the Iowa House which would make it a misdemeanor to read while driving. Dix says he is concerned that the practice of reading a book or a newspaper is distracting to the driver and should be dealt with by law enforcement officials. Dix said he wasn't expecting the bill to draw as much attention as it did. "Sometimes, you know, you get a little surprised when you introduce something," he said. However, he goes on to say he feels the matter has merit. "It is an issue that I think is meaningful to public safety, and that's the main motivation (for introducing it). I thought at the very least, it's an issue that deserves public attention." Dix says the Iowa State Patrol has documentation of accidents that have been caused by drivers who were distracted by reading. The bill has been referred to the Iowa House Transportation Committee. It would allow law enforcement to fine drivers $100 for a violation.

Yesterday, there was a fatal accident (head-on) here in Washington (near Seattle) that was caused by a woman in a Ford Explorer who was EATING A BOWL OF CEREAL while she was driving. Apparently she dropped the bowl of cereal and lost control of her SUV and veered into another car, killing the driver of the other car. She had minor injuries.

EATING a bowl of CEREAL??? Idiot. Sorry, but I just had to pass this along, in case you wanted to warn people not to eat bowls of cereal while they are driving (@#%^&* SUV drivers).

Thanks for listening. I love the show!!

Karen Rutherford

A while ago I was on Route 128 southbound. In a car, of course--I’m too old to run that fast. Anyway, my sweetheart, Karen, was signing to me as she was zipping down the highway. Karen is deaf. We have been together for 10 years. We can sign pretty fast with each other. Well, a state highway patrolman passes on our right, grabs his megaphone, and yells over the loudspeaker, "Keep your hands on the wheel!" He then proceeds to tool on down the highway.

I interpreted this to Karen as I was laughing. You see, normally if two people are signing, there is a good chance that BOTH of them are deaf. If that had been the case, our friend the patrolman would have accomplished nothing by yakking on his loudspeaker.

We caught up to the cop car (a foolish thing to do, I know), took his car number, and called the highway patrol headquarters to comment on this event. They listened politely, nodded, and hung up. Do you guys offer sensitivity training for the highway patrol?

Ciao,

Tony Toledo
Beverly, MA

Somehow, this seemed like a story you guys might appreciate.

Puyallup trucker crashes after choking on a pork rind Roanoke, Va. (AP)--A truck driver carrying a load of frozen fish choked on a pork rind and ran off Interstate 81 in Montgomery Country and overturned his trailer, state police said. Frank Montgomery of Puyallup was headed south on I-81 near Christiansburg about 4 p.m. Tuesday when a piece of pork rind caught in his throat, said Trooper Steve Fijalkowski of the Virginia State Police. "He said he coughed so hard he started to black out," Fijalkowski said.

There are a couple of morals to this story:

Everyone knows that pork rinds are bad for you; this story shows just how bad they are.
2. Don't eat while you are driving.

Regards,

Andy Hall

Having heard you talk about the perils of driving and talking on a cell phone, I thought you might like to hear about what I saw in the store today. Norelco is selling an electric razor--nothing amazing about that, but they are packaging a car power cord with it. Plugs right into your cigarette lighter! To me, this means that Norelco is suggesting that perhaps people can shave and drive at the same time.

I'm so glad I take the Metro to work.

Jeremy Arnold
Washington, DC

One of my pet peeves is to get behind someone yakking on their cell phone or, worse yet, primping in their mirror while they are driving. So a few months ago when I requested and received the official Car Talk "Drive Now, Talk Later" bumper sticker, I promptly displayed it on the back glass of my truck.

Imagine my chagrin when today in traffic I got behind a fellow Car Talk listener displaying the same bumper sticker, and not only was she putting on her lipstick while driving in traffic; she was doing it while holding a cell phone with her shoulder! I decided to turn off rather than risk following her any farther.

Maybe you should remind people about driving safety once more!

Sincerely,

Dan Higgins
Paragould, AR

After 20 years as a dentist, I am just now discovering that some of my patients are flossing their teeth while driving to work! I know that you have an awareness campaign about talking on cell phones while driving, so I thought this new risky driving distraction should be brought to your attention.

So far, I have uncovered three styles of highway flossing. There is what I refer to as the "purist": this individual will floss exactly as they do at home, wrapping the floss around the third finger of each hand and steering with their knee while flossing with their hands tied together!

Next is the "modified flosser": they lean forward on the steering wheel with their forearms, and bend forward at the waist to reach their hands with the mouth. They also will leave one hand with the floss unwrapped just in case they have to make a sudden steering maneuver.

Finally, there is the "tech flosser," who has discovered those little gizmos that hold a small length of floss between the arms of a miniature slingshot-type device. They can hold this with one hand and floss while keeping one hand on the wheel. Of course, these do a lousy job of plaque removal, but they are better than nothing. And the driver is probably holding a cell phone with the free hand.

At any rate, the accident-reconstruction folks can now look for those little grooves on the third finger of one or both hands of the victim. Maybe that will help explain why the driver drove straight into the crash without veering off the road.

C. Douglas Weir, D.D.S., M.S.D.

Driving down Laguna Boulevard in sleepy Elk Grove, California, I saw a woman driving down the boulevard--one hand holding a plate, the other hand holding a fork. NO HANDS ON THE WHEEL! I know you've probably heard it all before, and I've seen people reading novels, putting on their makeup, etc., but I just HAD to tell somebody with "authority" about this one! Keep up the fun times!

Suzanne

I thought I should let you both know about what may be a new trend that would require a new bumper sticker in your "Hang Up and Drive" campaign. I was waiting at my bus stop this morning when I noticed a guy sitting at a red light. He was playing a clarinet (possibly an oboe, but I think clarinet). I could hear it faintly. I thought perhaps he was just warming the instrument up en route to an important rehearsal or something and would put it down before driving off, but no--as soon as the light changed, he was off, and he didn't put the clarinet down! He must have been driving with his knees, because clarinets usually require both hands to play!

Jennifer
Baltimore, MD

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