Rule No.2
Don't be distracted.

This rule is almost as important as Rule No.1, especially now. The fact is that distraction is just as dangerous as alcohol consumption. And, what's the number one distraction? Cell phones. Other distractions involve radio adjustments, unruly passengers, eating, grooming, reading, and daydreaming. There is no breakdown of how many accidents are caused by the various distractions, but distracted U.S. drivers killed 3,328 people in 2012. Distracted driving caused one in five crashes involving injury. This is statistics from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Sixty nine percent of drivers aged 18-64 in the United States reported that they had talked on their cell phones while driving. The UK reported 21%. Thirty one percent of drivers 18-64 in the U.S. reported having texted while driving. Europe reported 15%.

Evidence that this problem has become an epidemic is the fact that some states and municipalities have passed laws outlawing texting while driving. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have banned all hand-held cell phones by commercial drives carrying hazardous materials - Department of Transportation document. For some reason this texting while driving is more of problem in the United States. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe it's because more teens in the U.S. have cars.

One thing is for sure: the most prevalent driving distraction is texting. I have no idea how teens do this. I have trouble texting while sitting in an easy chair. Texting while driving would be out of the question. I would need more hands. Apparently, teens are more ambidextrous. In any event, taking your eyes off the road for even a few seconds can lead to a disaster. The reason for this is simple. Modern cars have much quicker (lower steering ratio) steering systems. In fact, variable-ratio steering has become the norm. As you turn the wheel more, the wheels turn a proportionately higher number of degrees. Older cars--back in the 50's and 60's--had a much higher steering ratio. What does this mean? It means that the number of turns lock to lock in order to turn the wheels a maximum amount was much higher (6 turns) as opposed to modern cars (3 turns). The significance is that it doesn't take much to turn a modern car. A slight move of the steering wheel can make the car cross into an adjoining lane. Back in the old days, a car could practically drive itself, assuming that wheel alignment was correct. You could text while driving then. However, there were no cell phones back then. Ironic, isn't it?

Thanks for reading.