I read about the jeep crashing into the house here in town in todays paper. A driver lost control and went into a womans living room, pinning her under the couch which was pinned under the jeep until rescue workers could free her using jacks and airbags, all the while not knowing if the Jeep would fall back on her and do who knows what damage. She was listed in critical condition this morning, her home was badly damaged and you can bet her life will never be the same. As someone who has suffered major injuries, I speak from experience, and that is just the lingering effects of the pain associated with my injuries, all of which I brought on myself, mostly racing(actually crashing)bikes.

This woman had no such choice. Her life is changed through no fault or decision of her own. She will always feel the injuries and it is unlikely she will ever be able to just relax at home on the couch and watch TV again. The sound of a car gunning it, screeching its brakes or just a bump in the night may cause great anxiety.

Why did all this have to happen? A drunk driver? A crackhead or speed freak tweeking out? A high speed chase through a quiet neighborhood? No..None of the above. Her life was changed in an instant by someone looking at their laptop computer while driving. A LAPTOP! What in hell is the matter with us? Have we bocome so spoiled, so rushed, so arrogant and self absorbed that we can't wait until we get home to get on the computer? Hell, we could, at least, pull over! What could possibly be so important that this man would endanger the lives of others(not to mention himself)to gaze at a computer? What was his passenger thinking allowing him to do it? How utterly irresponsible of both of them. What is worse is that the driver was not arrested for reckless endangerment! He wasn't arrested for anything and I don't know that he was even cited! The article said the guy was visibly upset. I am sure that makes the family of the woman feel better. I say he was visibly stupid, and people have the gall to wonder why cell phones will soon be illegal while driving.

I say it shouldn't stop there.The following should also be made illegal while driving: Eating, preparing food(you'd be surprised how many times I have seen this), smoking(my cousin, Connie, was killed when the driver of the car she was in lost control while lighting a smoke), reading, putting on make-up, doing your hair and having a dog in your lap. There are others also, but I digress.

The point is that driving is a very serious business and should be the only thing you are focused on while doing it. You want to change a CD, do it at a red light or pull over. Are your tunes worth the risk of an accident? All the things I mentioned are things that distract you from the task at hand and I say you don't have the right to endager my loved ones because you are in too much a hurry to pull over for a minute once in awhile. Driving is a privelege and people need to remember and appreciate that fact.

It's time people stopped being so self centered behind the wheel and started being accountable for their actions there. I will say this..If someone were to injure a loved one doing something so stupid, I would be the one in the cop car..They would be the one in the ambulance.