“I’m streaming just to, like, make the drive less boring”–David Slavitt live-streamed on Facebook before being stuck on the driver’s side by a tractor trailer at a three-way intersection.

For a full account of the crash, visit this link posted by the Los Angeles CBS affliate. 

Interpersonal Divide in the Age of the Machine warns in several sections that we reach for technology whenever we are bored. The problem is, we’re getting bored in class, at home, during work, on the street and in our vehicles.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Users steeped in virtual environments become immune to the dangers of the real world, as evidenced by statistics associated with distracted driving. Between the years 2010-2012, the number of people killed in automobile crashes due to distracted driving averaged about 3,300 per year. In particular, 10 percent of all drivers under the age of 20 who died in crashes were distracted at the time of the crash.  The official government site, distraction.gov, also reports that at any given moment in America, some 660,000 drivers “are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.”  

Slavitt is a perfect example of what can occur when you are distracted while driving.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, distracted driving claimed 3,450 lives in 2016.

As Interpersonal Divide attests, the difference between a person who understands these statistics and one who overlooks them often is the difference between life and death on the road.

If you are bored while driving, designate a driver.

Perhaps in the future the car industry will do that for people like Slavitt with driverless cars. Thankfully, according to media reports, Slavitt is expected to survive his serious injuries from the crash.

To order Interpersonal Divide, click here.

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