Say it isn’t so! As a fellow female, I hate to say that the only times in the last decade that I have been in active danger while driving is because people think that being in the car is like being on a couch at home. Doubt it? A few examples of what I’ve seen, first on either the 635 (eight lanes in each direction) or 114 in Texas, both of which average 70 mph:

1. Reading a book on the steering wheel.

2. Painting their nails.

3. Using a curling iron.

4. Putting on mascara using the rearview mirror, holding their eyelid in one hand and the mascara wand in the other. No hands on the wheel.

5. Letting go of the wheel, turning around and yelling at the kids in the back seat.

6. Dropping their purse on the floor and letting go of the wheel while putting their head below the dash to retrieve it. 

7. I’m not even going to count the cell phone yappers who talk with their hands, or slow down, or weave around through the lanes as if they’re BEGGING to get someone else killed….. 

The following have happened in the last couple of months on city streets in Chicago:

1. Talking on the phone, which I must explain is illegal here and it’s a hefty fine. No problem, right? Do you think they realize that they’re going 20 mph in a 40 zone and weaving around like a bunch of drunks? I have seen two accidents caused by this in the last month alone. One of them was caused by a man veering away from the "cell phone drunk" and hitting a parked car. She drove away oblivious, even though the accident was her fault.

2. Brushing a dog.

3. Braiding the passenger’s hair.

4. Eating a hamburger and smoking a cigarette at the same time, steering with the knees. (To be fair, that was a man….in a 3/4 ton pickup that was pulling a trailer full of bricks.

5.  Wearing I-Pod earbuds. Yup. They’re going to hear that siren all right. A lot of people do this, including bus drivers. I cringe. 

As you might guess, I’m pretty much a stickler when it comes to safe driving. I had to be, first when my mother (a rally driver and 1/4 mile racer) taught me to drive, then when I took up racing myself. If you want to avoid becoming a small greasy smear under the wheels of a semi-trailer, you DRIVE when you’re driving and nothing else.

 This is the speech I got when I got my license:

"This is not a car. It is a three thousand pound weapon. You do not have the right to drive it. You have earned the privilege. Never assume that it cannot be taken away."

 When you "multi-task" behind the wheel, you are risking lives, even if you’ve done it a thousand times before. I’m 4(never mind) and I’ve seen several truly nasty accidents on both city streets and on the highways. One moment’s inattention can mean a life. Think about that the next time you text behind the wheel or make that "desperately important" phone call to find out what kind of yogurt you need to pick up.