jakorte's blog

Here’s an idea...

I think every car should be equipped with an “Awake-a-Meter." This nifty little gadget could gauge the level of your oxygen intake to determine if you really are awake enough to be driving your car in the midst of rush hour traffic.

Because some mornings, there’s just too much roadside gravel and dirt being slung around by tires wandering off the road. Yeah, I know some of this is caused by dropping a cell phone, spilling coffee, trying to read a map, or just the multi-tasking inability to drive while also concentrating on the radio news.

But seriously, the Awake-a-Meter could also be designed to project your awake-ness rating on to your rear window so other drivers would know if you are about to try passing a school bus, uphill, in a non-passing zone. I think something like that would be helpful.

Or maybe, it could be hooked up to a mandatory Awake-a-Meter roof light.
Green means you’re ok.
Yellow means you’ve been driving at least long enough to stop yawning.
Red means “Watch Out! They’re going to jump out of the exit ramp, across three lanes, all with moving traffic, coffee in one hand and a cell phone in the other, totally without warning, just to make sure they make it to their office 10 seconds before you do!"

These folks must love their jobs more way than I do. Or maybe, it’s just that I have passengers to consider. So, every move I make or don’t make is with their safety in mind. Now, suppose everyone drove like that? Like someone else’s life depended on their driving?

Well, guess what? Most times, someone else’s life does depend on your driving. Their lives occupy the car behind you, the car in front of you, the car beside you, the car in the opposite lane, the car pulled off to the side with a flat tire, the school bus making frequent stops, the truck trying to merge into traffic, the eco-friendly bicyclist, the motorcyclist with the extra loud pipes so you can hear him coming and avoid cutting him off, etc.

Think about this, please, for the safety and sanity of my passengers.

They kind of freak out when I wake them up by having to slam on the breaks and use my horn in an extended, yet friendly, “Thank You for Not Being Considerate" kind of way.

jak