Blind Drivers

The #DontStreamAndDrive campaign has always focussed primarily on those who livestream from their car. Their own video and production if you like. However, the reverse of this, enabled not only by phones but also infotainment systems, is drivers who choose to watch TV, movies or YouTube whilst driving.

We have seen so many stories pulling Tesla drivers apart for watching films whilst the autopilot controls the car. Yet here we have drivers engaged in this behaviour in cars that have no such technology. All drivers need to be in full control and autopilot or not there is no room for this behaviour.

In this article, a small village in Ireland has seen drivers prosecuted for watching videos whilst driving. They were so engrossed in their viewing that they failed to notice the police officer in high vis clothing cycling alongside them.

The dangers of mobile phone use whilst driving are fairly obvious already. But when we consider how vulnerable cyclists are and how in tune with their surroundings drivers have to be, this highlights very nicely how distractions massively narrow our peripheral vision. There is no room in the driving environment for any distractions from phones or infotainment systems at all.

https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/570027/motorists-watching-videos-on-their-phones-didn-t-see-garda-cycling-beside-them-in-limerick-village.html