Sadly, when politically-correct people in the field of traffic safety state that one should never refer to drivers as “stupid,” or by any other derogatory adjective, there have to be occasions which deserve an exception, and if watching television or videos while driving is not a supreme example of dangerous idiocy, I’m not sure what is.
The above photograph which I took while I was a passenger on a U.S. Interstate just last night (November 25, 2017) shows a woman driving with a GPS unit mounted on the windscreen, directly in front of her face, thereby blocking a critical part of her view ahead. But in addition to that very misguided situation there was also a laptop, tablet or similar screen, set up on the dashboard and angled for her to watch while driving, and what was apparently an Asian quiz or chat-show was clearly being screened at the time.
The vehicle, by coincidence, later followed ours onto the parking lot at a rest area and to our horror we then discovered that apart from the two adults in the front seats, it also contained two apparent teenagers and two younger children.
Therefore, if anyone wants to tell myself and our many blog readers why this highly dangerous behaviour is not blatantly stupid driving, I will happily post any sensible replies and keep the matter open to professional discussion.
It IS stupid driving, but more important it is DEADLY driving. Anytime you are distracted while driving, be it electronically or by passengers or scenery, whatever the distraction, it becomes deadly. And it is irresponsible, by doing what your picture shows, it proves the driver doesn’t care about the passengers safety, or the safety of themselves and fellow motorists. These are the people that infuriate me the most on the roads, I mean, what example are you setting for your child passengers? and what about those around you in other vehicles? It isn’t all about you, its about the lives around you! I truly believe law enforcement needs to pull licenses on the spot when this is witnessed by them. 3 months with no license may wake them up. Then again, as the saying goes: “you cant fix stupid”