There was a terrible accident  on Route 128 this morning, two people died. The fellow that caused the accident, by swerving, fled the scene  but was later arrested.

I know that stretch of road in Woburn very  well. It’s where at 7am you have to concentrate. A huge volume of traffic has just  left to Route 93 into  Boston and  things pick up fast, and also come to a screeching halt, fast.

It is no time for  GPS checking , cellphone talking,mounted IPOD, Sirius , coffee drinking, texting, none of it. It is time to concentrate. Any time you are behind the wheel  you should  not be doing any of these things.  It has been demonstrated time and again that taking your eyes of the road for an instant  is very dangerous. A swerve is the result of inattention and then looking up to  a rear end in your windscreen.

It used to be that when you commuted  or  drove you  were out of touch. It was kinda nice! This was not long ago. Why does anyone think they can literally stare into their lap  for some time  while driving? I see this frequently. It used to be that the car in the mall parking had to light a butt before giving up it’s space.

Now  they also  make a call and back up in a crowded  parking lot yapping with a phone on their shoulder. This really is egregious.

Lately I have seen many reports of  accidents in our neck of the woods. They are  the deadly at speed crossing the line accidents. I hope that  the evidence of  fault caused by device fiddling  is reported. I would also  hope that additional penalties  would apply. You are kidding yourself if you think the hands off ear things  are any better. You are not concentrating, your speed drops 10mph while talking. That is the result of  a lack of concentration.  When you end the call you  speed up again.

Just try  this weekend  to maybe familiarize yourself with your destination. That  GPS device can really  mess you up. Instead of watching the road you are watching the screen.

We have to do  something about  this issue. You might have been one of the fatalities on Route 128 this morning, because of a swerve.

Mike