Texting, Wexting, Drexting and Wexting
So for those of you following me on Twitter @james_barbour you might have noticed the recent flurry of texting tweets that I've been dropping.
I'm constantly amazed at the abundance of texting while doing other things which continually distracts the person texting from doing the task at hand.
Not sure if these were my inventions but they just seem to fit: the phrase "wexting" for those people who text while walking, "drexting" for those texting while drunk and "dwexting" for those texting while drunk and walking.
I've noticed this more abundantly in NYC of course more than Los Angeles given the number of people walking in the city. I wish I had a video camera (or was able just to stake out at a corner) to catch the antics of the "wexters".
I've seen people walk into walls, walk into parked cars, walk into glass doors, step off the curb (sadly) and almost into on coming traffic. It's crazy!
Then I watched a bus driver texting while driving a bus load of passengers, so engrossed was he in his little blackberry that he literally pulled out into the middle of the cross street with traffic flowing the opposite direction. All this DESPITE a federal ban on Trucks and Buses using handheld devices. I mean come on!
I pulled the following from the net.
Federal Ban on Texting for Truck and Bus Drivers
As of January 26, 2010, all commercial vehicle drivers in the United States are banned from text messaging and using hand-held cell phones while driving.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) defines a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) as any vehicle that is:
- 10,001 pounds or more
- Transporting hazardous materials
- Designed or used to carry 9 or more people, including the driver, for compensation
- Designed or used to carry 16 or more people, including the driver, not for compensation
This texting and hand-held restriction was ordered directly by the DOT and affects truckers and bus drivers across the country. Those who violate this federal ban on texting may be subject to fines up to $2,750.
Take a look at this website:
With all of the humor I put onto this subject (the drunk guy texting while walking and running into a trash can (he hurt no one but himself and I dare to say given his state he didn't feel a thing) but the idea of people driving while texting is just beyond my comprehension. As a parent I'm even more acutely aware of this...the lives of my children and all of our children are so much more important than sending a text message to a friend or colleague. It CAN wait.
Here's a site I came across which might be of interest.
http://dontdriveandtext.org
I'm not normally this adamant with my blogs but this topic really pushes a button with me because it affects and potentially negatively impacts so many people.
OK, that said...final presentation of SERRANO today. What a great group, I've had so much fun. Men in dresses, Chad Doreck in tights and me with a prosthetic nose...what more can I say?
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