Right in the Centre - Distracted driving, distracted living
- Details
- Published on Friday, April 20, 2018
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
In today's world, we have many more distractions than we used to have, whether it is on the highway or life itself.The change is two-fold. Fifty, or even 20 years ago, we were not flooded with all the information we have today. There may well have been as much going in the world but we didn’t know about it. We certainly didn’t hear about it instantly like we do today. If there was an outbreak of war, a disaster or a tragedy, we might not even hear about it, let alone view it over and over again on our TV, computer or phone. Our lives are one big distraction, played out in our heads and fed by both organized media and by social media.
Aligned with our very distracted lives, our roads and highways are much busier than they used to be. That’s a given. Highway speeds are higher than they used to be and there are more vehicles. The transport trucks are huge; they dwarf the rigs of 50 years ago. It’s insane how casual people are about driving a car in amongst all the speed and traffic of today’s roads, all the while talking on a phone, listening to music with earbuds in place and drinking a coffee all at the same time.
In this context of today’s highways, we are quickly injecting a couple more scenarios that will produce disasters. Driving while smoking pot, a drug that can relax a person to a stupor in some cases, will soon be legal. Seeing as a large percentage of car accidents are alcohol-related, it can’t be avoided that with more pot in the mix, accidents and deaths will increase.
The second injection of insanity is driverless cars and trucks. The cameras and computers are absolutely fantastic today and no doubt will get better but there will be disasters. Cameras get obstructed with dust and mud, computers fail, road conditions change suddenly due to ice, snow or wind. Driverless vehicles will be a disaster looking for a place to happen.
There may be a solution to all this distraction. It’s called simplifying one’s life. Actually living in a small community makes it a bit easier. Compared to city life, there are not nearly as many distractions. We have what we have and yes, we all try to grow and develop our communities and our options but there are, thankfully, fewer distractions. If we are able to maintain and grow our communities amenities and services, there are fewer reasons to inject ourselves into the traffic flow. The more we choose to shop at home and the more we are able to shop at home, the less distance we are forced to travel for basics and even for desired goods and services. Let’s face it, small towns have, to some extent, been their own worst enemy. Communities that have purposely planned their growth and maintenance are far better off than those that haven’t.
No matter where we live, we can also simplify how we thrive and survive. How many hours must a person spend on a computer, an iPhone or iPad to be happy? Truth is, not many. We can’t control how many distractions are out there in life or on the highway but we can control how many we participate in. The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Being still sometimes is a good thing in body, mind and spirit.
