There is no such thing as multi-tasking

Yesterday (Monday, December 5, 2011) we had a medical appointment in Rochester, NY, which is about 18-20 miles from where we live.
A friend I graduated college with, who now lives in Massachusetts, apparently had a minor fender-bender accident with his car, so he e-mailed me to say he was okay.
He also e-mailed me the following news-link, detailing how 10 or more megabuck supercars (eight Ferraris, one Lamborghini [“lam-bor-GEE-nee;” as in “Sam” and “get”], and two Mercedes) in Japan all got smashed up.
So I e-mailed back “which Ferrari were you?”
My friend and I are both car-nuts.
I got the following response: “Me? I was the one driving the light brown 1980 Datsun 4-door, just minding my own business, going down the highway at my usual 35 mph, when that string of red cars came up behind me like bats out of hell. That first one tried to pass me, must have been going at least 140 mph. Jeez Louise, I saw the whole thing out of my rear view mirror. I just wound up the old buggy to 52, had to hold tight onto the wheel, and kept on going. Kids these days, I swear!”
So here we are, my wife and I motoring back from the appointment.
I was explaining to her my e-mail exchange with my friend.
My SmartPhone gets my e-mails, so the e-mail exchange was coming to my SmartPhone.
I.e. The e-mail exchange was on my SmartPhone, as well as this laptop.
I hardly ever reply to SmartPhone e-mails. Doing so requires use of the SmartPhone virtual keyboard, which is near impossible. I could also use voice-recognition, but that is undependable and usually needs editing.
I wanted to show my wife the exchange, so I unholstered my SmartPhone from my back pocket.
Not easy harnessed into a driver-seat, but it can be done.
SmartPhone out, I started firing up the e-mail exchange.
WHOA! Doing so requires requires taking my eyes off the road and looking at my SmartPhone.
I don’t like it.
We started drifting toward the right shoulder.
When I’m driving along and my SmartPhone rings, I don’t answer.
I can’t drive and operate a cellphone at the same time.
The call will go to voicemail. A “missed call” will get memorized. I can call back.
I’m not about to have my driving compromised by a phonecall.
Driving takes 100 percent concentration.
Beyond that, cellphone use while driving is illegal in this state (NY), although miscreants go ballistic when written up.
I pass hundreds yammering on their cellphones while driving.
The other day I noticed a girl texting.
She was following a slowed traffic-jam.
Taking your eyes off your leader is an invitation to rear-end.
There is no such thing as multi-tasking.
What’s happening is perhaps a second-or-two is applied to each action, jumping back-and-forth between driving and your cellphone.
A friend has Bluetooth® in his car.
Apparently his cellphone Bluetooths to an in-dash receiver which puts his call on the car-radio. It also has a microphone.
Nice idea; hands-free cellphone operation while driving.
But I don’t think I could even do that.
Carrying on a cellphone conversation would distract from my driving.
We put away my SmartPhone.
I can’t both drive and operate it at the same time.
I have to pay full attention to avoid accidents. Other drivers are hot to commit hari-kari.
I don’t know how many phenomenal avoidances I’ve had, and how many times I’ve been cut off. —And many involved cellphone users.
Beyond that my wife was going ballistic.
That SmartPhone had me wandering all over the road.
As I said above, I don’t like it.

• A “virtual keyboard” is a keyboard displayed on the SmartPhone touch-screen. It operates by fingertip-heat. Touching the “virtual keys” generates text. (It’s so tiny it mistypes.)