Car talk

There's a comedian named Elayne Boosler, who was popular in the 80's and 90's, who was known primarily for (1) dissing Mother Teresa on national TV, and (2), being Andy Kaufman's girlfriend. She wasn't a great comic, but the one line of hers I remember was that she would rather be on the road with someone who was drinking and driving than someone who was eating and driving, because at least the drunks were trying to drive.

It's a good lesson to keep in mind when we decide whether we want to text, check email, or talk on the phone while driving. I personally find it almost impossible to resist the temptation to check email when I drive, and though I seldom even peek at it except when I'm at a red light, I have to admit that there have been instances where I have glanced down while the car is in motion.

As much as I admire the ability to focus, I'm willing to accept that multitasking is just the way of the world. What tends to get ignored in all of the hoo-hah from my generation fussing at the young-uns is that while singular focus is not the same be all and end all (in a multi-tasking environment one might argue that such a thing doesn't exist anyway), that makes the ability to prioritize even more important. And probably more difficult.

So when you're driving, what's the most important thing? I'm having trouble deciding between not dying and not killing someone else. So if the goal is to get from one place to another without causing any human death, it would seem like answering texts would be a somewhat lower priority. Is that really so hard to keep hold of?