Intersections: Biking and Distracted Driving

One thing I noticed when I started biking around is that, on a bike, I really feel like I'm interacting with other road users. You get to look at people and make eye contact in a way feels very personal. And generally, I'm really happy with those interactions.
But this personal touch has also allowed me to noticed that when I've had close calls -where a driver didn't see me before turning or blew a stop sign- they were on cell phone.

'Distracted Driving' is being talked about everywhere from Capitol Hill to Missouri schools, where a woman who was texting with her sister when the sister got into a crash gives speeches to students about the dangers of distracted driving. The Phila. Inquirer reported that "nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year" in relation to distracted drivers.

And in Philly, the city has just begun implementing it's own distracted driving policy. The Police will give out warnings throughout November, and then start ticketing in December.

Lately, I've been learning to see the roads themselves as important parts of our public space. That is, the road is an important part of our neighborhoods and communities, rather than something that runs through it. Making our roads better is an important pre-requisite for building community.

Which is why distracted driving, whether you're in a car or on a bicycle, is important for making everyone's interactions on the road safer and better. Yes, bikes count too. Everyone is disctracted by cell phones, even pedestrians, as this study involving clowns on unicycles shows.

-If you want to find out more about the movement against distracted driving, check out http://txtresponsibly.org/ or our friends @Idrivefocused and @DontTwive on Twitter.

-More on Philly Distracted Driving Ban from NBC.