Please Don't Video and Drive!

I've seen a number of videos filmed by the person in the driver's seat. I admit to doing that while I'm on a bicycle, but driving is worse.

Humans feel that they are good at multitasking, but it's an illusion. If you are filming, you are distracted. If someone runs a red light, you are less likely to notice if your attention is on your camera.

Sorry to sound preachy, but the reason we bought our LEAF is that my wife was hit by a distracted driver who was on her cell phone. Our previous car was totalled. My wife was banged up, with broken ribs and many bruises, and she is still nervous about driving.

So, don't do it. It's not worth it.

The person who hit your wife just needs more practice. The key is to not get distracted. If I tilt my head sideways and cross my eyes, I can have one eye pointed at my cell phone and another on the road. Drinking a little before getting behind the wheel aids in the double vision part. Problem solved! Always remember, practice makes perfect. If at first you don't succeed, try again!

</trolling>

Actually, looking at a cell phone isn't the only thing that causes substantial distraction. Eating, having a serious conversation with someone else - including via hands-free cellphone - and playing with the car's instrumentation and audio controls can all cause accidents. It's best to just sit there, with some music playing if that helps, and focus on driving. I recently hit another car in large part because (I'm serious here) my passenger was nervous about a car hauler offloading new cars at the side of the road, and kept warning me about that...

What confuses me is the EXACT same people who argue against cellphone use will participate in channel surfing or animated conversations with a passenger while extolling the evils of automated driving....

I've also seen news correspondents filming their segment on distracted driving--while driving.

https://youtu.be/fcUUFi1UL14?t=14s

https://youtu.be/oRAiTlRL2FQ

https://youtu.be/LPRQsJhzSqY?t=16m20s