October 11, 2024 • 39 mins
Every year, about 3,000 people die in auto accidents due to distracted driving. The CDC has identified three kinds of distracted driving: visual distractions, manual distractions, and cognitive distractions. That can include anything from being distracted by the passing scenery, to using your phone, to even singing or talking. What is the wildest example of distracted driving that you have witnessed? Are you guilty of distracted driving?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's night Side with Dan Ray. I'm telling easy bond video.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Thang you out, coming up on the ten o'clock news,
coming up after the ten o'clock news, I should say.
And we're coming up upon the tenth hour of this
day of actually it's the twenty I mean, think about
it's the twenty third hour of the day, but it's
ten o'clock. A simple as that, we keep it simple,
keep it simple. It's ten aweight. My name is Dan Ray.
(00:30):
So we just talked last hour about cell phones and
had some really great vocals. We're going to do the
same this hour, but a different topic, and I want
to talk about distracted driving. I will admit I can
be a distracted driver. I try not to be, but
(00:54):
there's a lot of ways you can be a distracted driver,
and frankly I should be. It's sort of related because
I should put the cell phone away, because if the
cell phone rings, my impulse is to use it. And
for a long time I thought to myself, well, talking
(01:15):
in the cell phone is the same as talking to
someone in the passenger seat. And while that might be true,
it's a lot easier to talk to someone in the
passenger seat by just saying, what do you think about
the Red Sox game last night? Or what do you
think about the Bruins the Bruins beat the Canadians. How
do you think Drake May is going to do this weekend?
(01:36):
As opposed to going through your phone list and either
punching in someone's number that you've memorized or scrolling and
finding their name and punching their number into their name.
We all probably do it. We all probably do it.
And there's a lot of bad drivers out there. Okay,
(01:57):
people who are speeding, you've seen them. Okay, people who tailgate,
We've talked about that. But I want to talk about
distracted driving. And I got to be honest with you.
I wish I could say I have never been distracted
while I was driving, but I think all of us
have been. Probably cell phone usage is the worst example
(02:19):
of distracted driving. Now, again, the commonality between these two hours,
obviously is cell phone usage. Cell phone usage by kids
in school when they should be being educated, when they
should be learning, and cell phone usage by us adults
while we're driving. So the first thing that I'd like
to do is invite you to call and admit tell
(02:44):
me that you've used your cell phone. I think most
people have. Is there a way that you have figured
out how to bring the cell phone with you but
not use it while you're driving? I mean, driving long
distances can be bored. But I think it's something that
(03:05):
we need to talk about, because if we're going to
criticize kids for bringing cell phones to school and being
distracted in class, we need to as adults. I think
fest up. And I'll I've fested up already, and I
hope you'll fest up as well. But in addition, I'd
love to find out from you what are some of
the other really weird stuff you've seen that have been
(03:27):
because it's only it's not just cell phones. I mean,
these numbers are are important. Consider this. About three thousand
people die in auto accidents due to distracted driving every year.
Thirty one and forty two people died because of distracted
driving in twenty twenty. There were twenty eight hundred and
eighty fatal accidents in twenty twenty involving a distracted driver.
(03:51):
Eight percent of fatal car accidents are due to distracted driving.
Nine nine people die every day from distracted driving. I mean,
these are numbers, These are real numbers, and there were
names people behind. In addition to other drivers, five hundred
and eighty seven pedestrians and cyclists were killed in distracted
driving automobile accidents in twenty twenty, and three hundred and
(04:13):
twenty four thousand, six hundred and fifty two were injured
in twenty twenty. These are statistics. There may be later statistics,
but these are the statistics that I have to use now.
Most distracted driving happens between six and eleven at night.
The least distracted driving occurs between six and nine in
the morning. It's a cell phone use was involved in
(04:35):
twelve percent of car accidents. That's a big number. That's
a big number. It does say that young people. In
twenty twenty, people between the ages of twenty five and
thirty four were involved in the most distracted driving fatal accidents.
It's tough to kind of live with yourself after that
(04:58):
when you really do think about it. There's other things
that people do. What's the dumbest thing that you've ever
done while you were driving, or what's the dumbest thing
you saw someone else do. There are lots of ways
in which you can be distracted. Obviously, there's enough problems
(05:19):
out there to deal with. Then then it's more than
cell phones. I mean, if it was just cell phones,
you could focus on cell phones. But there are people
who put their makeup on. There are people who are
eating as they're driving. I've done that. I've done that.
There are people who have in the morning have a
cup of coffee. They drive through McDonald's and they go
(05:44):
ahead and they have their coffee in their hand, and
if they spill their coffee, yikes, that's going to distract
you a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
There are apparently three types of distracted driving. Visual distractions.
It cause you to take your eyes away from the road.
These can a GPS. Well, GPS is now part of it,
so I don't know that I would put a GPS
in that category, but I guess so looking at a billboard,
I guess we all look at billboards, but I think
what kind of used to that. There are a lot
(06:12):
of people who rubber neck and accident on the other
side of the road, and of course just checking out
scenery and looking at other cars surrounding you instead of
looking at what's in front of you. That's visual distractions.
There are manual distractions, and these are eating. As I mentioned,
while driving using your cell phone, even something as simple
(06:33):
as changing the radio station or reaching for something in
the car, all examples of manual distractions and then cognitive
distractions that take your mind off driving or worrying. They
all fall into this category. Now, look, I don't think
you'd be in the road without maybe daydreaming a little bit.
(06:56):
So we will focus on behavior that you've seen and
a little bit up phone lines a simple as that
six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven,
nine three one ten thirty. Now again, cell phones, I
think are the commonality to these two hours, And we've
(07:19):
just been pretty critical of students, elementary school kids, junior
high school kids, and high school kids who can't separate
themselves from their cell phone while they're at school. Uh,
inability to do that hurts them, hurts themselves because they'll
(07:41):
miss a lesson, whether it's in a a in a
what I would call a building ball block, a subject
like math. If you don't, you know, you've got to
learn to add in order to figure out how to subtract.
You have to learn to multiply in order how to
figure out how to divide, and you have to learn
all of that to do things like algebra and geometry
and all the higher applications. But with cell phones in
(08:07):
your car, you know, you can get killed or you
can kill yourself. And I'm an offender. I'm not perfect
in any stretch. I'm an offender. Okay, I'm doing this
tonight and sort of criticizing myself because I'm hoping that
by criticizing myself on the radio publicly, I will force
(08:30):
myself to do less of it, or maybe do none
of it. I'd like to say to you, I'll never
use a cell phone again while driving. I don't know
how he will do that, but maybe I just have
to shut it off, leave it in the seat, allow
it to charge, or something like that. I'm just I'm serious.
(08:53):
I don't want to be on the phone. And if
something bad happened after having done an hour in the
radio like this, so that's my first topic. Hoppy to
this hour. If this topic doesn't work, and I think
it will, I have a third topic in my back pocket.
And uh we also have, of course, the twentieth hour
coming up, so stay with us. That is always, I
(09:13):
think one of the most enjoyable hours of the week,
because one is the last hour of the week But
number two, it gets you. We try to do it
in such a way that gets you going towards the
weekend with a little bit of fun. So you have
the topics at hand, you have a telephone at hand,
feel free and if you can drive, if you could
drive and talk to me in the radio. I'm not
(09:34):
going to discourage you from doing that, but please be careful.
Six one seven thirty six one seven, nine, three ten
thirty Distract the driving. What have you seen other people do?
Putting on their makeup, eating, read someone's reading newspapers. You know,
these driverless cars are very active in San Francisco. I'm
(09:54):
telling you right now, they're going to be here in
Boston before you know it. We'll be back on Night's
side right after this. Feel free to join us. It's
a Friday night in Boston.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Now back to Dan ray Mine from the Window World
Night Side Studios on w b Z, the news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Well, here we go, we got we've got good response,
got full lines. Let's go right to it. Harold is
in Hudson, Massachusetts. Harold, let's talk about distracted driving. What's
the weirdest thing you've ever seen out there in the road.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Hey, hi, Harold, Hey you there.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I am absolutely this is You're Harold and Hanson and
I'm Dan at WBZ. You go right, what's your favorite?
What is it? What's your favorite? But what sort of
distracted driving have you seen or engaged in?
Speaker 5 (10:40):
I got a sorry story.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Ago. Jeez, watch that one, Harold.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
I don't forget that.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
I just I'm so passionate.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I got carried away.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Sorry, no, I understand that past. Remember there are little
kids listening. Okay, so that's all I gotta do.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Oh, go to bed.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
You shouldn't be up right now.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Wait, I can get so.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Let me ask you this hell? How long ago did
this happen?
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Two years ago?
Speaker 6 (11:09):
And right near?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
How bad were your injuries?
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Nearly dead?
Speaker 5 (11:15):
If it was one second shorter, I'd be talking to
you and your peppies up in heaven.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Well, I'm glad you survived. Did you spend time in
the hospital.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Or went to where rehab idiotic and quincy?
Speaker 6 (11:34):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (11:35):
You know what happened there? They robbed me of all
my clothes in my wallet, so I was naked. I
had to get my kniees to come over bring me
supply clothes to leave. That's the kind of people we
deal with around this horrible earth. Maggots, maggots, maggots.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Okay, and that's that's a tough experience all around.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
Right now, I'm on the cell phone, but I'm really careful.
I'm in a dock road in Hanover, but I'm driving
twenty miles an hour, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Okay, Well, please please be careful because obviously there are people,
there are people out there. How long did it take
me to get back? How long did it take?
Speaker 7 (12:17):
Talk to you tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I have a story that will blow your socks off?
Speaker 6 (12:21):
Do you think I'm lying?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
May have you a call tomorrow. I'll have Rob give
you my private direct line and I will get back
to leave your number with with Rob, or just call Rob.
Give give Harold my direct line, the seven zero three
to three line, so that he'll be able to be
in touch with me tomorrow and we'll we'll we'll talk.
(12:46):
I will get back to you, I promise, Harold. Okay,
thank you? All right, let's keep rolling here. I'm gonna
go to Patrick down in the capital city of our
great nation, the District of Columbia. Hey, Patrick, welcome back.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I gotta tell you always the newsman, aren't you always
the newsman. You know, give me your number, you know,
give me your number. I'll find a story. I'll find
a story. You're very good, Dan, you're very good.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Well. I always hated when I was in television. I
hated at the middle of the day when you realize
you didn't have a story of your own and you
had to take some assignment from the desk, which was,
you know, cover some story that you really didn't have
an interest in. It was like, oh, man, that made
a long day.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Well, we have tourists in Washington, d C.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Oh my goodness, Okay, okay, they're.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
The most wonderful drivers that you could possibly deal with,
and especially when you start doing these circles, and especially
with the way Pennsylvania Avenue is between the White House
and the capital. My gosh, but this is a driving area.
I mean, we can be in Annapolis and then we'll
just go up to Montgomery County at Rockville and then
(13:59):
swing down through d C. And we'll end up in
northern Virginia. Then we'll go over on the other side.
I mean, we move all over the place here.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But well, here's the deal. In Washington, I've spent a
little bit of time in Washington over the years, and
I think it's a relatively easy town when you've been
there a while to get to know it, because it
is sort of a grid system. But when you're first there,
it's like where am I? You're overwhelmed. And if you're
going in there as a tourist, it can be overwhelming, don't.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
You think, Yes, it does, yes, yes, And especially when
they step out in front of buses and get killed, which.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Is you know, that's one way to be overwhelmed.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
I guess as that happen, that's one w Yeah, that's
one work do you every one? Well, here's here's something
just really interesting. Now I have. I have a lot
of good self will. I don't take my cell phone
with me out of the house. I know everybody, and
and it doesn't do me any good in Washington, d C.
To call nine one one anyway, because you're kind of
messed up. So you know, you're you got your on
(15:00):
your own right, and there's no reason for me to
have to talk on the phone. Because I remember walking
up to a corner and there's a whole bunch of
people and they're talking and talking, and none of them
were talking to one another. They were all on cell phones,
and I think that there's just missing so much of
life there in our nation's capital. To be among people,
(15:23):
but you're talking to somebody else who's not standing next
to you, And I think there's this disassociation that this
nasty cell phone does. And then when you put it
behind the wheel, you're asking for trouble. You're just asking
for trouble.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
But real quick, of all of all the drivers that
you've that you've watched, Okay, what's the way. I'm trying
to get some examples of people. I mean, we've heard
about people eating as they're driving, and people who are
putting on makeup. Have you ever known someone doing something
and you'd say to yourself, oh my god, are they crazy?
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Reading the newspaper on the Beltway?
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, yeah, folks got to keep up with the daily
with the Washington Post, right.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
But real quick, I went to United Parcel Service yesterday
to go with one of their step bands, to drive
one of their step bands and see what their driver
education and driver reinforcement program is. I am a much
better driver because of UPS. They put their drivers through
(16:35):
the good stuff and you can talk about safe driving
with your members of UPS. I had one of the
best discussions with with a trainer there, and they have
a program that you'll go through for five days about
being a good driver on one of those step bands.
And really, I mean, yeah, it was. It's impressive. It
(16:58):
is really impressive. Like you know, first of all they
are on their step bands. They just make it clear.
You look at your gauge and then you look out ahead,
you look at your mirror, you look out ahead. You
never go mirror gauge and then look out. You always
keep your eyes moving and keep the big picture out
(17:19):
in front of you and look ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
And that's pretty simple. But it makes a lot of sense.
How did you get involved in that? Was that something
that they gave to you because of your position or
is that something that's available to anyone for the general public.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
If you wiggle your way in through their system, you
can get it.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Got you, okay? Play Well that's the truth. You know, Hey,
that's if you learned something. You're a pretty sharp guy.
I like that. Nothing nothing wrong with self education.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
No, No, it was you know, going to going and
seeing ups and being with their drivers and actually driving
one of those step bans. The great Yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Hope someone took a picture, so you have that as
a souvenir.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
No, no, I don't need to even hears about myself.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
No.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
There, I was driving around the landover facilities, heading out
towards the you know the I called it Redskins Stadium,
but you know we don't call it Redskins Stadium anymore,
and driving up all.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Those fans are looking and change their name back now
that they're winning too. They they've got a great young
quarterback and they're winning. We should be so lucky here
in New England.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Well, you had your run. You had your run.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
We did. It was a good run. It's a good run.
We're gonna get another one starting that run though. All right, Patrick,
I gotta let you run. Washington, d C. Corresponding checking
it in timely fashion. Thanks Bud. I appreciate it as always.
You know, they have a great weekend, Happy Indigenous People's
Day or happy and by the way, all seriousness, I
want to wish happy on coport to you know, members
(18:56):
of my audience who have the Jewish faith. This is
a great weekend celebration for them with family and friends.
And I know many of them are not listening tonight,
but I hope that they realize that they are in
our thoughts.
Speaker 6 (19:09):
And that's right.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
The banks will be closed on Monday.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah, it's all. Well, it is a holiday, but we
don't get it as a I think everything's closed on Monday.
I think it's a national holiday. Some people are going
to celebrate Columbus Day and some people will celebrate Indigenous
People's Day. So whatever, we don't at iHeart it is
not a recognized company company holiday at all. So I'll
(19:34):
be working Monday night. We'll talk to you Monday, right, Thanks, Patrick,
thanks man, talk to you soon. Have a great break,
have a great one. Thanks, have a good weekend. Okay,
here comes the news, and after the news we will
return talking about distracted driving. I'm looking for some people
who will fest up Harold fest up about his distracted driving,
even well about him driving on a cell phone. You
(19:56):
can call me in a cell phone and tell me
what you think. Maybe again, I don't want to lose
an audience, but I just think we have to be
as careful as we possibly can be, because that one
mistake can really come back to hurt someone else or
hurt yourself, and also be a terrible burden to carry
with you. With you for the rest of your life.
Back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Let's get rolling. He're going to go to Robert and Wellesley.
Robert next on Nightside.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
Welcome, good evening, Dan, interesting topic, interesting show as usual.
I've found Patrick's comments very interesting and good suggestions. I'm
going to try and pick up on some of those.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah, yeah, good ideas.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
I think that you're probably basic. You must be basically
a conscientious driver. And I had the shows and the
fact that you're entertaining this topic, and I think I
thought of myself as being a conscientious driver. But I've
found times when I think I've been, you know, overlooked
a speed limit sign or some some road sign or
(21:04):
and that wasn't paying. And I think that's something that
can happen. And they talk about highway hypnosis. I think
that routine driving can also cause something that's a little
bit like highway hypnosis. Is kind of a transfer something
that you that can cause someone if we take it,
If we take things too for granted, we can wind
up missing something or some event on the on the road,
(21:26):
something that's happening, or be less less alert than what
you should be. Do you think that could be the case?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I do, and you use the Great Highway hypnosis. I'm
not a great long distance driver. I don't like heavy
to drive, you know, drive to New York or something
like that. I would much prefer just to, you know,
take a train down in New York because it's not
worth going. Those two hundred and twenty miles in the
last thirty miles getting in or out of New York
(21:54):
City are just brutal. So, but also just driving on
the mass Turned Pike, the main roads, it can be
pretty boring. I mean it, you know, turn the radio up,
keep working back.
Speaker 7 (22:09):
What do you do to so? What do you do
to make it interesting? I guess there's because they say
there's nothing worse than a convert. At some point along
the way, I sort of became a convert to focus driving,
which I think is probably a little bit like what
Patrick was talking.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
I'll understand that. Well. I think you got to you
got to pay attention. I told my kids, and of course,
you know it's easy for a parent to tell their kids.
I told them when they started driving, I said, this,
you know, is the most dangerous thing you'll ever do
in your life unless you join the Marines. Okay, when
you think about it, you're driving down the road with
this two tons of steel going from sixty sixty five
(22:49):
seventy miles an hour, and I used to emphasize to
them that if you're driving sixty miles an hour. I
learned this in drivers' education a long time ago. You
know how many feet you're traveling per second if you're
going sixty miles an hour.
Speaker 7 (23:05):
I could calculate that, but why don't you tell me?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Okay, I know what it is, and you can calculate it.
It's eighty eight feet a second. That means, if you're
going sixty miles an hour, you can drive from one
end of the football field almost to the other end
of the footbric for three seconds.
Speaker 7 (23:27):
Yeah, that's an important fact.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, it just kind of puts it in some context.
That's all you make it. It makes it more visual.
Speaker 7 (23:35):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
I'm probably a conscientious of driver as well. What's the
worst thing you've seen of anybody, the stupidest thing you've
seen someone doing while you're driving.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
Well, I don't know if you think this was I'm
distracted driving or not, but I was on a highway.
I think it was one twenty eight and I was
sort of trapped in traffic, and the fellow behind me,
I know, whether it's on medication or what, he would
drive up. They almost touched the back of my car
and then slow down and then drive up again. It
was almost it almost seemed like he was nodding off
(24:06):
at the wheel and I couldn't get out. I couldn't.
I'd put on emergency lights. I couldn't get out of
I was trapped in traffic. I couldn't get out in
the other land to get away from. So there a
few other things like that.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I was stopped at a traffic light. Oh, I don't know.
Five or six years ago, my wife and I had
gone to a fundraiser for it was actually for Zoo
New England in Cambridge, and we were on Memorial Drive
and we were stopped at one of the traffic lights
of Memorial Drive and all of a sudden, ball boom,
we get hit from behind.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
There wasn't a lot of damage. I mean there was some,
but not It wasn't like the car was caped in,
but it was quite a jolt.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
And now whenever I come to a traffic light and
I'm stopping because it's red. I'm always looking in the
rear view mirror and making sure that that person who's
coming up behind me is slowing down, because, you know,
I think that if I thought that I'm sitting there
in that red light, and I think that this person
(25:09):
behind me is either asleep at the wheel or not
paying attention, and they're gonna rim into me again. If
it was a traffic light but there was nothing coming
either way, I'm going through it. And I know that
technically you're breaking the law, but I'm just telling you
that I'm having been hit once stopped at a traffic light.
It's not a feeling I want to enjoy again.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
Oh, I would say, I would say, I think that
would Yeah, thank you very.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Much, have a great weekend. Okay, let me go next
to kN What did I do there? Rob? What the
heck did I do? Okay, I got wrong, hit the
wrong button. Let's go to Ken in Hudson, Ken next
on Nightside.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
How are you good? How are you good?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
I have no idea what I did. I almost took
myself off the air.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
I think I was just it's getting late. Yeah, I
just wanted to come and like I used to go
to the kind of when you failed off for business.
And one day on my way to work during rush hour,
I was passed on the left side by a woman
that was reading like a tabloid newspaper. And I saw
(26:12):
this and I said, my god, and then I started
honking the horn, and she just kept the paper up
in her hands, and I think she actually accelerated out
of the way, you know, on like on a five
lane in each direction highway, you know. And then way
back in high school, there was one of the bus drivers,
(26:32):
well we used to look in the rear view mirror
because we were a pretty rowdy bus crowd and and
you know, and I'm saying, my god, you know, there's
a there's a bus full of kids and she's looking
in the rear view mirror to see who's making, you know,
noise in the back. And I said, well, either you know,
either one of these cases, I mean could injure a
(26:53):
lot of people.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
And it was the kids that were causing the distraction.
I mean, she became a distracted bus driver because of
the kids in the bus.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
Interestingly enough, well allegedly we were we were out again.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, it was kind of on school buses. What don't
you have a school buses seatbelts.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
That's true, there's no seatbelts.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
On school buses. What are we thinking. I know that
they don't want to have kids get into a school
bus with on fire and cock it out of the
seat belt. I think that is what the theory is.
But boys, sounds like a pretty dangerous theory.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
Well, yeah, it would be a lot more saying with seatbelts.
I agree with that. And you know, I think the
chances of the bus igniting would would be pretty minimal
compared to getting thrown around. Yeah. And then another time
I was literally it was on a you know one
(27:51):
in Natick, and I was just waiting for the oncoming
traffic to clear out of the way so I could
take a left into my driveway and some guy behind
me hit my car and I went. I literally ended
up in the backseat of my car and I went
across the lane and I ended up on a boulder.
The car ended up on a boulder in the neighbor's yard.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And that that experience, that that has to be a
twenty ten thousand dollars accident at least.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
Well, yeah, that that was that was not good for
the car at all and you know, I got out
of the car okay, and the the you know, the
paramedics showed up and they asked me if I needed
to go to the hospital, and I declined it. But
I had one heck of a whiplash, you know. For
the next couple of ys hit.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
The guy that hit you the woman versus that hit you,
did they stop?
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Yeah? I think so? Yeah, I think so because I
think that car was damaged. But my roommates, you know,
heard the accident. They came out of the house and
they said they could see like, you know, cancer beer
in the sky's car and you know, I don't know. Yeah,
so I don't know. And you know, it was daylight,
so this guy is obviously starting his weekend early. But yeah,
(29:11):
I mean there's this I think it's good that you
have in the show that has you know, points out
you know, people after they've been driving away, they get
kind of nonchalant and they just do stupid things. And
I think reminding people that you're having you're not the
only one on the road. There's other people around you
that it's important to, you know, stay attention if you're driving, drive,
don't do other things. You know, and it's just it's
(29:34):
just really disappointing because you know, I'm sure my my
story reflects out of other people's stories.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I'll bet, I'll bet that there are plenty of people
who are identifying with your story. Ken. I love the story.
You called before us.
Speaker 6 (29:46):
It's your first time, No, this is the first time.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
We got the virtual studio audience here ready to give
Roger with applause. Thanks, I appreciate it, Thank you very
much again, looking forward to your second call. Thanks again.
Speaker 6 (29:58):
Okay, take care, a great night.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Interesting that subjects like this pool our first time callers.
Quick break, I got Jim, Charlie, Mike and Mary, and
then we have the twentieth hour, So don't go anywhere,
stay with us here at Nightside. I got a great
topic for the twentieth hour, trust me on that one.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Okay, we're gonna go next. I tell you we're gonna
go next to talk with Jim. Jim, you were next
on Nightside. Appreciate you calling in. Let's talk about distract
the drive and go ahead, Jim.
Speaker 8 (30:32):
Okay, Dan, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Sir? What's going on.
Speaker 6 (30:37):
Well, my.
Speaker 8 (30:41):
View on this is that, well, to answer your question,
the most distracted thing I ever did was drinking behind
the wheel actually, you know, having an open container and
just drinking some driving down the road.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
But my opinion, gee, I don't know how long ago that,
but that was accepted a long time ago. It was
almost like that, yeah right if passion and people don't
understand that anymore. But mothers again, driving kind of change that,
you know a little bit.
Speaker 8 (31:12):
So my my view on this is that I almost
everyone is either even if they're not looking at a
cell phone or playing with their makeup or something, you know, uh,
their mind could still be somewhere else, so they may
be distracted. And uh so between the people that are
there driving you know, just disobedient to the law and
(31:33):
the ones that are distracted, I figure, everybody's got something
going on and I can't control it. I can't stop
them from being distracted or disobedient, but I just can
be defense, you know, stay defensive. And there's a number
of different defensive driving techniques, but the best one I
ever learned was uh, you know, California Highway Patrol defensive
(31:57):
driving course. They taught me about this thing called the
space cushion. And to me, the space cushion is you know,
and sometimes the space cushion is behind me, and so
I just need to slow down a little bit to
get into it. Sometimes in front of me, so I
got up. But they taught us about the space cushion,
(32:17):
and it's kind of a funny concept when you think
about it, but the space cushion is very to me.
That's kind of my that's my main tactic that I use.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
So what you mean is, don't tailgate the guy in
front of you, particularly in the left lane. Right.
Speaker 8 (32:35):
Well, sometimes, yeah, most of the time that's what it is.
But sometimes you look behind you and it's just nothing
but a gigantic tidal wave of other cars, and you
look in front of you and there's a big open area,
so you can accelerate and go around them and just
get to a place of safety. Another space cushion.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Oh, I get that. But what is always interesting to
me is I like to try to leave a lot
of between myself and the car in front of it,
because I always assume that the person in front of
me might have an animal runout and roll, They might
hit the brakes real quickly. I never I'm not a tailgater.
And I love when you get behind someone in the
left lane it is going slow, they're going sixty five,
(33:16):
so you're backing off you're going sixty five, and or
are you going seventy and they're going seventy and you
have some guy come up behind you doing eighty. I
love to get I used to, you know, say oh,
you know, I'm not now, I move over, I get
out of the way, because then they'll be on that
the bumper of the guy aheadia And it's like a game.
It's almost I watch it. And then when when that
(33:37):
guy gets in the in the left hand lane and
he kicks it up to ninety or something, I think
to myself, you know what if if he'll get caught
and some police office will pull him over and he'll
spend some time on the side of the road. That's
what I think.
Speaker 8 (33:56):
Stay difficult, We got to stay rational and try to
maintain it's cushion.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Absolutely. Hey.
Speaker 8 (34:01):
The other the other thing they taught me about was
the imaginary island.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Really, what's that one?
Speaker 8 (34:08):
Well, they told me there was an imaginary island, and
then they started joking around about were there any girls
on the island or gotcha?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
All right, alright, we'll save that for another night. Thanks Jim,
we'll talk soon. Have a great weekend. Okay, thanks you,
good one bye. Let's go to Charlie and belly him.
Charlie want to get you and Marion havebroline as well.
Go ahead, Charlie, how are you doing that?
Speaker 6 (34:30):
Dane Way?
Speaker 3 (34:31):
I knew it was quite a while when you lived.
I was when you were a reporter. You were on
WBZ with Shelby Scott.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
I was on WBC for thirty one years less five days,
but who's counting.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
I drove cabs too, good time. You know, I'm the
city of Boston.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I did I have a ride of your cab, Charlie.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I picked up so many people of WBZ the thirty
two seeing down the Brighton Center, and I used to
get calls down at w BG hours.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
You're you're you're an experienced driver, and tell us what's
the weirdest thing you've ever seen?
Speaker 3 (35:13):
I wasn't Brighton years. That happened by way. Haggard is
on the corner of H Cornab and UH in Washington
Street there.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Okay, tell us your time as a driver, what's the
weirdest distracted driving that you've ever seen.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Oh that's crazy. You're down here and Bellingham. They drive
like idiots, especially the Rhode Island. Tags like like where
I live, you know, like I'm going down the street
to Steve Women's body. I'm going to Steed women. The
people passing the double swallowed Lyne. You're driving like idiots.
You can go all the way up. You can take
one O nine down here and you can get away
(35:49):
in UHD Midway and you drive all the way up
uh By malls. He's one of the child's here in
western Roxbury.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
I know exactly what you mean.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
You can drive all there's one police schools.
Speaker 6 (36:02):
On the world, not one.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah, well maybe sometimes we don't see them. I don't.
I don't know. Charlie. Have you retired from from driving?
Are you still working?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
No, I'm almost eighty years old. I didn't. I drove
on once in a once in a blue moon, you know,
but about twenty years forty years hopping on. But I drove.
I've done a lot of security with the Special Police.
Live Special Crop in the back of the na Geral
Hopital hot Place. What are your place?
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Yeah? I used to live down by I used to
live in Longfellow Place, long time ago, long time ago.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Judge was down there. Who's at Emerson Place, Judge adlo Oh.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Yeah, surely remember him?
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Drive around, got around the phone there, all right, all.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Right, Charlie, got one more. I gotta get in here,
so I'm gonna bid you.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
That's why I wanted to be faster with jam.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Talk to you soon, jolly appreciate it. Let me go
next to Marion. Hebro Mary next on nice Saga, right ahead,
Hello Dan.
Speaker 9 (37:07):
Nice to hear from you. Well, I'm calling you, thank you.
I have a quick story. My older brother and I
were traveling up to Maine, to Lisbon, Maine because they
have a Moxie festival, the drink, the tonic, the soda,
(37:28):
and his grandson was going to be riding in a
Moxie van, a.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
Cute little one.
Speaker 9 (37:35):
So I believe in GPS, but my brother does not.
We're driving along and I'm sneaking on my phone. I
have the GPS going, and he gets to a point
and he says, dang, I really don't. I'm not really
sure where we are. So he takes out from behind
(37:56):
the seat. Didn't know he had it in the back seat,
a huge mongous Rand McNally.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Map books, an atlas. We would call that a.
Speaker 9 (38:07):
Map at let's take you. I should know that an atlas.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
That's old school. That is old school.
Speaker 9 (38:15):
This was only five years ago, Dan, And he takes it.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
He opens it up.
Speaker 9 (38:21):
It's post a size, and he's driving the car. We're
going sixty five with his knees. And I'm not trying
to freak out, but I just carefully said to him,
we are He said, we're only thirty five miles away.
(38:42):
I said, I'm not, according to my notes here. He
said what I said, we're one hundred and thirty five
miles away. I just I said, please let me use
my phone, please, because.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
I'm flat out of time. Did you finally get there?
Speaker 9 (39:02):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Okay, and I'll bet you you used your GPS and
not his atlas.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah right, all right.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Thanks Mary. Mary. I'm up at the break, so I
gotta let you run. I wish I caught to you earlier.
It was a great story.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
Thank you, thank you, bye bye, all good night.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
I think we're about a time, right Rob. Tell tell
Bobby he wants to hold on, we'll take him on
the other side. I got a good twentieth Hour coming up.
Stay with us one night side
It's night Side with Dan Ray. I'm telling easy bond video.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Thang you out, coming up on the ten o'clock news,
coming up after the ten o'clock news, I should say.
And we're coming up upon the tenth hour of this
day of actually it's the twenty I mean, think about
it's the twenty third hour of the day, but it's
ten o'clock. A simple as that, we keep it simple,
keep it simple. It's ten aweight. My name is Dan Ray.
(00:30):
So we just talked last hour about cell phones and
had some really great vocals. We're going to do the
same this hour, but a different topic, and I want
to talk about distracted driving. I will admit I can
be a distracted driver. I try not to be, but
(00:54):
there's a lot of ways you can be a distracted driver,
and frankly I should be. It's sort of related because
I should put the cell phone away, because if the
cell phone rings, my impulse is to use it. And
for a long time I thought to myself, well, talking
(01:15):
in the cell phone is the same as talking to
someone in the passenger seat. And while that might be true,
it's a lot easier to talk to someone in the
passenger seat by just saying, what do you think about
the Red Sox game last night? Or what do you
think about the Bruins the Bruins beat the Canadians. How
do you think Drake May is going to do this weekend?
(01:36):
As opposed to going through your phone list and either
punching in someone's number that you've memorized or scrolling and
finding their name and punching their number into their name.
We all probably do it. We all probably do it.
And there's a lot of bad drivers out there. Okay,
(01:57):
people who are speeding, you've seen them. Okay, people who tailgate,
We've talked about that. But I want to talk about
distracted driving. And I got to be honest with you.
I wish I could say I have never been distracted
while I was driving, but I think all of us
have been. Probably cell phone usage is the worst example
(02:19):
of distracted driving. Now, again, the commonality between these two hours,
obviously is cell phone usage. Cell phone usage by kids
in school when they should be being educated, when they
should be learning, and cell phone usage by us adults
while we're driving. So the first thing that I'd like
to do is invite you to call and admit tell
(02:44):
me that you've used your cell phone. I think most
people have. Is there a way that you have figured
out how to bring the cell phone with you but
not use it while you're driving? I mean, driving long
distances can be bored. But I think it's something that
(03:05):
we need to talk about, because if we're going to
criticize kids for bringing cell phones to school and being
distracted in class, we need to as adults. I think
fest up. And I'll I've fested up already, and I
hope you'll fest up as well. But in addition, I'd
love to find out from you what are some of
the other really weird stuff you've seen that have been
(03:27):
because it's only it's not just cell phones. I mean,
these numbers are are important. Consider this. About three thousand
people die in auto accidents due to distracted driving every year.
Thirty one and forty two people died because of distracted
driving in twenty twenty. There were twenty eight hundred and
eighty fatal accidents in twenty twenty involving a distracted driver.
(03:51):
Eight percent of fatal car accidents are due to distracted driving.
Nine nine people die every day from distracted driving. I mean,
these are numbers, These are real numbers, and there were
names people behind. In addition to other drivers, five hundred
and eighty seven pedestrians and cyclists were killed in distracted
driving automobile accidents in twenty twenty, and three hundred and
(04:13):
twenty four thousand, six hundred and fifty two were injured
in twenty twenty. These are statistics. There may be later statistics,
but these are the statistics that I have to use now.
Most distracted driving happens between six and eleven at night.
The least distracted driving occurs between six and nine in
the morning. It's a cell phone use was involved in
(04:35):
twelve percent of car accidents. That's a big number. That's
a big number. It does say that young people. In
twenty twenty, people between the ages of twenty five and
thirty four were involved in the most distracted driving fatal accidents.
It's tough to kind of live with yourself after that
(04:58):
when you really do think about it. There's other things
that people do. What's the dumbest thing that you've ever
done while you were driving, or what's the dumbest thing
you saw someone else do. There are lots of ways
in which you can be distracted. Obviously, there's enough problems
(05:19):
out there to deal with. Then then it's more than
cell phones. I mean, if it was just cell phones,
you could focus on cell phones. But there are people
who put their makeup on. There are people who are
eating as they're driving. I've done that. I've done that.
There are people who have in the morning have a
cup of coffee. They drive through McDonald's and they go
(05:44):
ahead and they have their coffee in their hand, and
if they spill their coffee, yikes, that's going to distract
you a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
There are apparently three types of distracted driving. Visual distractions.
It cause you to take your eyes away from the road.
These can a GPS. Well, GPS is now part of it,
so I don't know that I would put a GPS
in that category, but I guess so looking at a billboard,
I guess we all look at billboards, but I think
what kind of used to that. There are a lot
(06:12):
of people who rubber neck and accident on the other
side of the road, and of course just checking out
scenery and looking at other cars surrounding you instead of
looking at what's in front of you. That's visual distractions.
There are manual distractions, and these are eating. As I mentioned,
while driving using your cell phone, even something as simple
(06:33):
as changing the radio station or reaching for something in
the car, all examples of manual distractions and then cognitive
distractions that take your mind off driving or worrying. They
all fall into this category. Now, look, I don't think
you'd be in the road without maybe daydreaming a little bit.
(06:56):
So we will focus on behavior that you've seen and
a little bit up phone lines a simple as that
six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven,
nine three one ten thirty. Now again, cell phones, I
think are the commonality to these two hours, And we've
(07:19):
just been pretty critical of students, elementary school kids, junior
high school kids, and high school kids who can't separate
themselves from their cell phone while they're at school. Uh,
inability to do that hurts them, hurts themselves because they'll
(07:41):
miss a lesson, whether it's in a a in a
what I would call a building ball block, a subject
like math. If you don't, you know, you've got to
learn to add in order to figure out how to subtract.
You have to learn to multiply in order how to
figure out how to divide, and you have to learn
all of that to do things like algebra and geometry
and all the higher applications. But with cell phones in
(08:07):
your car, you know, you can get killed or you
can kill yourself. And I'm an offender. I'm not perfect
in any stretch. I'm an offender. Okay, I'm doing this
tonight and sort of criticizing myself because I'm hoping that
by criticizing myself on the radio publicly, I will force
(08:30):
myself to do less of it, or maybe do none
of it. I'd like to say to you, I'll never
use a cell phone again while driving. I don't know
how he will do that, but maybe I just have
to shut it off, leave it in the seat, allow
it to charge, or something like that. I'm just I'm serious.
(08:53):
I don't want to be on the phone. And if
something bad happened after having done an hour in the
radio like this, so that's my first topic. Hoppy to
this hour. If this topic doesn't work, and I think
it will, I have a third topic in my back pocket.
And uh we also have, of course, the twentieth hour
coming up, so stay with us. That is always, I
(09:13):
think one of the most enjoyable hours of the week,
because one is the last hour of the week But
number two, it gets you. We try to do it
in such a way that gets you going towards the
weekend with a little bit of fun. So you have
the topics at hand, you have a telephone at hand,
feel free and if you can drive, if you could
drive and talk to me in the radio. I'm not
(09:34):
going to discourage you from doing that, but please be careful.
Six one seven thirty six one seven, nine, three ten
thirty Distract the driving. What have you seen other people do?
Putting on their makeup, eating, read someone's reading newspapers. You know,
these driverless cars are very active in San Francisco. I'm
(09:54):
telling you right now, they're going to be here in
Boston before you know it. We'll be back on Night's
side right after this. Feel free to join us. It's
a Friday night in Boston.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Now back to Dan ray Mine from the Window World
Night Side Studios on w b Z, the news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Well, here we go, we got we've got good response,
got full lines. Let's go right to it. Harold is
in Hudson, Massachusetts. Harold, let's talk about distracted driving. What's
the weirdest thing you've ever seen out there in the road.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Hey, hi, Harold, Hey you there.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I am absolutely this is You're Harold and Hanson and
I'm Dan at WBZ. You go right, what's your favorite?
What is it? What's your favorite? But what sort of
distracted driving have you seen or engaged in?
Speaker 5 (10:40):
I got a sorry story.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Ago. Jeez, watch that one, Harold.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
I don't forget that.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
I just I'm so passionate.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I got carried away.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Sorry, no, I understand that past. Remember there are little
kids listening. Okay, so that's all I gotta do.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Oh, go to bed.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
You shouldn't be up right now.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Wait, I can get so.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Let me ask you this hell? How long ago did
this happen?
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Two years ago?
Speaker 6 (11:09):
And right near?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
How bad were your injuries?
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Nearly dead?
Speaker 5 (11:15):
If it was one second shorter, I'd be talking to
you and your peppies up in heaven.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Well, I'm glad you survived. Did you spend time in
the hospital.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Or went to where rehab idiotic and quincy?
Speaker 6 (11:34):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (11:35):
You know what happened there? They robbed me of all
my clothes in my wallet, so I was naked. I
had to get my kniees to come over bring me
supply clothes to leave. That's the kind of people we
deal with around this horrible earth. Maggots, maggots, maggots.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Okay, and that's that's a tough experience all around.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
Right now, I'm on the cell phone, but I'm really careful.
I'm in a dock road in Hanover, but I'm driving
twenty miles an hour, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Okay, Well, please please be careful because obviously there are people,
there are people out there. How long did it take
me to get back? How long did it take?
Speaker 7 (12:17):
Talk to you tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I have a story that will blow your socks off?
Speaker 6 (12:21):
Do you think I'm lying?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
May have you a call tomorrow. I'll have Rob give
you my private direct line and I will get back
to leave your number with with Rob, or just call Rob.
Give give Harold my direct line, the seven zero three
to three line, so that he'll be able to be
in touch with me tomorrow and we'll we'll we'll talk.
(12:46):
I will get back to you, I promise, Harold. Okay,
thank you? All right, let's keep rolling here. I'm gonna
go to Patrick down in the capital city of our
great nation, the District of Columbia. Hey, Patrick, welcome back.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I gotta tell you always the newsman, aren't you always
the newsman. You know, give me your number, you know,
give me your number. I'll find a story. I'll find
a story. You're very good, Dan, you're very good.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Well. I always hated when I was in television. I
hated at the middle of the day when you realize
you didn't have a story of your own and you
had to take some assignment from the desk, which was,
you know, cover some story that you really didn't have
an interest in. It was like, oh, man, that made
a long day.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Well, we have tourists in Washington, d C.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Oh my goodness, Okay, okay, they're.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
The most wonderful drivers that you could possibly deal with,
and especially when you start doing these circles, and especially
with the way Pennsylvania Avenue is between the White House
and the capital. My gosh, but this is a driving area.
I mean, we can be in Annapolis and then we'll
just go up to Montgomery County at Rockville and then
(13:59):
swing down through d C. And we'll end up in
northern Virginia. Then we'll go over on the other side.
I mean, we move all over the place here.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But well, here's the deal. In Washington, I've spent a
little bit of time in Washington over the years, and
I think it's a relatively easy town when you've been
there a while to get to know it, because it
is sort of a grid system. But when you're first there,
it's like where am I? You're overwhelmed. And if you're
going in there as a tourist, it can be overwhelming, don't.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
You think, Yes, it does, yes, yes, And especially when
they step out in front of buses and get killed, which.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Is you know, that's one way to be overwhelmed.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
I guess as that happen, that's one w Yeah, that's
one work do you every one? Well, here's here's something
just really interesting. Now I have. I have a lot
of good self will. I don't take my cell phone
with me out of the house. I know everybody, and
and it doesn't do me any good in Washington, d C.
To call nine one one anyway, because you're kind of
messed up. So you know, you're you got your on
(15:00):
your own right, and there's no reason for me to
have to talk on the phone. Because I remember walking
up to a corner and there's a whole bunch of
people and they're talking and talking, and none of them
were talking to one another. They were all on cell phones,
and I think that there's just missing so much of
life there in our nation's capital. To be among people,
(15:23):
but you're talking to somebody else who's not standing next
to you, And I think there's this disassociation that this
nasty cell phone does. And then when you put it
behind the wheel, you're asking for trouble. You're just asking
for trouble.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
But real quick, of all of all the drivers that
you've that you've watched, Okay, what's the way. I'm trying
to get some examples of people. I mean, we've heard
about people eating as they're driving, and people who are
putting on makeup. Have you ever known someone doing something
and you'd say to yourself, oh my god, are they crazy?
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Reading the newspaper on the Beltway?
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, yeah, folks got to keep up with the daily
with the Washington Post, right.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
But real quick, I went to United Parcel Service yesterday
to go with one of their step bands, to drive
one of their step bands and see what their driver
education and driver reinforcement program is. I am a much
better driver because of UPS. They put their drivers through
(16:35):
the good stuff and you can talk about safe driving
with your members of UPS. I had one of the
best discussions with with a trainer there, and they have
a program that you'll go through for five days about
being a good driver on one of those step bands.
And really, I mean, yeah, it was. It's impressive. It
(16:58):
is really impressive. Like you know, first of all they
are on their step bands. They just make it clear.
You look at your gauge and then you look out ahead,
you look at your mirror, you look out ahead. You
never go mirror gauge and then look out. You always
keep your eyes moving and keep the big picture out
(17:19):
in front of you and look ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
And that's pretty simple. But it makes a lot of sense.
How did you get involved in that? Was that something
that they gave to you because of your position or
is that something that's available to anyone for the general public.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
If you wiggle your way in through their system, you
can get it.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Got you, okay? Play Well that's the truth. You know, Hey,
that's if you learned something. You're a pretty sharp guy.
I like that. Nothing nothing wrong with self education.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
No, No, it was you know, going to going and
seeing ups and being with their drivers and actually driving
one of those step bans. The great Yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Hope someone took a picture, so you have that as
a souvenir.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
No, no, I don't need to even hears about myself.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
No.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
There, I was driving around the landover facilities, heading out
towards the you know the I called it Redskins Stadium,
but you know we don't call it Redskins Stadium anymore,
and driving up all.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Those fans are looking and change their name back now
that they're winning too. They they've got a great young
quarterback and they're winning. We should be so lucky here
in New England.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Well, you had your run. You had your run.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
We did. It was a good run. It's a good run.
We're gonna get another one starting that run though. All right, Patrick,
I gotta let you run. Washington, d C. Corresponding checking
it in timely fashion. Thanks Bud. I appreciate it as always.
You know, they have a great weekend, Happy Indigenous People's
Day or happy and by the way, all seriousness, I
want to wish happy on coport to you know, members
(18:56):
of my audience who have the Jewish faith. This is
a great weekend celebration for them with family and friends.
And I know many of them are not listening tonight,
but I hope that they realize that they are in
our thoughts.
Speaker 6 (19:09):
And that's right.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
The banks will be closed on Monday.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah, it's all. Well, it is a holiday, but we
don't get it as a I think everything's closed on Monday.
I think it's a national holiday. Some people are going
to celebrate Columbus Day and some people will celebrate Indigenous
People's Day. So whatever, we don't at iHeart it is
not a recognized company company holiday at all. So I'll
(19:34):
be working Monday night. We'll talk to you Monday, right, Thanks, Patrick,
thanks man, talk to you soon. Have a great break,
have a great one. Thanks, have a good weekend. Okay,
here comes the news, and after the news we will
return talking about distracted driving. I'm looking for some people
who will fest up Harold fest up about his distracted driving,
even well about him driving on a cell phone. You
(19:56):
can call me in a cell phone and tell me
what you think. Maybe again, I don't want to lose
an audience, but I just think we have to be
as careful as we possibly can be, because that one
mistake can really come back to hurt someone else or
hurt yourself, and also be a terrible burden to carry
with you. With you for the rest of your life.
Back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Let's get rolling. He're going to go to Robert and Wellesley.
Robert next on Nightside.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
Welcome, good evening, Dan, interesting topic, interesting show as usual.
I've found Patrick's comments very interesting and good suggestions. I'm
going to try and pick up on some of those.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah, yeah, good ideas.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
I think that you're probably basic. You must be basically
a conscientious driver. And I had the shows and the
fact that you're entertaining this topic, and I think I
thought of myself as being a conscientious driver. But I've
found times when I think I've been, you know, overlooked
a speed limit sign or some some road sign or
(21:04):
and that wasn't paying. And I think that's something that
can happen. And they talk about highway hypnosis. I think
that routine driving can also cause something that's a little
bit like highway hypnosis. Is kind of a transfer something
that you that can cause someone if we take it,
If we take things too for granted, we can wind
up missing something or some event on the on the road,
(21:26):
something that's happening, or be less less alert than what
you should be. Do you think that could be the case?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I do, and you use the Great Highway hypnosis. I'm
not a great long distance driver. I don't like heavy
to drive, you know, drive to New York or something
like that. I would much prefer just to, you know,
take a train down in New York because it's not
worth going. Those two hundred and twenty miles in the
last thirty miles getting in or out of New York
(21:54):
City are just brutal. So, but also just driving on
the mass Turned Pike, the main roads, it can be
pretty boring. I mean it, you know, turn the radio up,
keep working back.
Speaker 7 (22:09):
What do you do to so? What do you do
to make it interesting? I guess there's because they say
there's nothing worse than a convert. At some point along
the way, I sort of became a convert to focus driving,
which I think is probably a little bit like what
Patrick was talking.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
I'll understand that. Well. I think you got to you
got to pay attention. I told my kids, and of course,
you know it's easy for a parent to tell their kids.
I told them when they started driving, I said, this,
you know, is the most dangerous thing you'll ever do
in your life unless you join the Marines. Okay, when
you think about it, you're driving down the road with
this two tons of steel going from sixty sixty five
(22:49):
seventy miles an hour, and I used to emphasize to
them that if you're driving sixty miles an hour. I
learned this in drivers' education a long time ago. You
know how many feet you're traveling per second if you're
going sixty miles an hour.
Speaker 7 (23:05):
I could calculate that, but why don't you tell me?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Okay, I know what it is, and you can calculate it.
It's eighty eight feet a second. That means, if you're
going sixty miles an hour, you can drive from one
end of the football field almost to the other end
of the footbric for three seconds.
Speaker 7 (23:27):
Yeah, that's an important fact.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, it just kind of puts it in some context.
That's all you make it. It makes it more visual.
Speaker 7 (23:35):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
I'm probably a conscientious of driver as well. What's the
worst thing you've seen of anybody, the stupidest thing you've
seen someone doing while you're driving.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
Well, I don't know if you think this was I'm
distracted driving or not, but I was on a highway.
I think it was one twenty eight and I was
sort of trapped in traffic, and the fellow behind me,
I know, whether it's on medication or what, he would
drive up. They almost touched the back of my car
and then slow down and then drive up again. It
was almost it almost seemed like he was nodding off
(24:06):
at the wheel and I couldn't get out. I couldn't.
I'd put on emergency lights. I couldn't get out of
I was trapped in traffic. I couldn't get out in
the other land to get away from. So there a
few other things like that.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I was stopped at a traffic light. Oh, I don't know.
Five or six years ago, my wife and I had
gone to a fundraiser for it was actually for Zoo
New England in Cambridge, and we were on Memorial Drive
and we were stopped at one of the traffic lights
of Memorial Drive and all of a sudden, ball boom,
we get hit from behind.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
There wasn't a lot of damage. I mean there was some,
but not It wasn't like the car was caped in,
but it was quite a jolt.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
And now whenever I come to a traffic light and
I'm stopping because it's red. I'm always looking in the
rear view mirror and making sure that that person who's
coming up behind me is slowing down, because, you know,
I think that if I thought that I'm sitting there
in that red light, and I think that this person
(25:09):
behind me is either asleep at the wheel or not
paying attention, and they're gonna rim into me again. If
it was a traffic light but there was nothing coming
either way, I'm going through it. And I know that
technically you're breaking the law, but I'm just telling you
that I'm having been hit once stopped at a traffic light.
It's not a feeling I want to enjoy again.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
Oh, I would say, I would say, I think that
would Yeah, thank you very.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Much, have a great weekend. Okay, let me go next
to kN What did I do there? Rob? What the
heck did I do? Okay, I got wrong, hit the
wrong button. Let's go to Ken in Hudson, Ken next
on Nightside.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
How are you good? How are you good?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
I have no idea what I did. I almost took
myself off the air.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
I think I was just it's getting late. Yeah, I
just wanted to come and like I used to go
to the kind of when you failed off for business.
And one day on my way to work during rush hour,
I was passed on the left side by a woman
that was reading like a tabloid newspaper. And I saw
(26:12):
this and I said, my god, and then I started
honking the horn, and she just kept the paper up
in her hands, and I think she actually accelerated out
of the way, you know, on like on a five
lane in each direction highway, you know. And then way
back in high school, there was one of the bus drivers,
(26:32):
well we used to look in the rear view mirror
because we were a pretty rowdy bus crowd and and
you know, and I'm saying, my god, you know, there's
a there's a bus full of kids and she's looking
in the rear view mirror to see who's making, you know,
noise in the back. And I said, well, either you know,
either one of these cases, I mean could injure a
(26:53):
lot of people.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
And it was the kids that were causing the distraction.
I mean, she became a distracted bus driver because of
the kids in the bus.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
Interestingly enough, well allegedly we were we were out again.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, it was kind of on school buses. What don't
you have a school buses seatbelts.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
That's true, there's no seatbelts.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
On school buses. What are we thinking. I know that
they don't want to have kids get into a school
bus with on fire and cock it out of the
seat belt. I think that is what the theory is.
But boys, sounds like a pretty dangerous theory.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
Well, yeah, it would be a lot more saying with seatbelts.
I agree with that. And you know, I think the
chances of the bus igniting would would be pretty minimal
compared to getting thrown around. Yeah. And then another time
I was literally it was on a you know one
(27:51):
in Natick, and I was just waiting for the oncoming
traffic to clear out of the way so I could
take a left into my driveway and some guy behind
me hit my car and I went. I literally ended
up in the backseat of my car and I went
across the lane and I ended up on a boulder.
The car ended up on a boulder in the neighbor's yard.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And that that experience, that that has to be a
twenty ten thousand dollars accident at least.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
Well, yeah, that that was that was not good for
the car at all and you know, I got out
of the car okay, and the the you know, the
paramedics showed up and they asked me if I needed
to go to the hospital, and I declined it. But
I had one heck of a whiplash, you know. For
the next couple of ys hit.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
The guy that hit you the woman versus that hit you,
did they stop?
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Yeah? I think so? Yeah, I think so because I
think that car was damaged. But my roommates, you know,
heard the accident. They came out of the house and
they said they could see like, you know, cancer beer
in the sky's car and you know, I don't know. Yeah,
so I don't know. And you know, it was daylight,
so this guy is obviously starting his weekend early. But yeah,
(29:11):
I mean there's this I think it's good that you
have in the show that has you know, points out
you know, people after they've been driving away, they get
kind of nonchalant and they just do stupid things. And
I think reminding people that you're having you're not the
only one on the road. There's other people around you
that it's important to, you know, stay attention if you're driving, drive,
don't do other things. You know, and it's just it's
(29:34):
just really disappointing because you know, I'm sure my my
story reflects out of other people's stories.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I'll bet, I'll bet that there are plenty of people
who are identifying with your story. Ken. I love the story.
You called before us.
Speaker 6 (29:46):
It's your first time, No, this is the first time.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
We got the virtual studio audience here ready to give
Roger with applause. Thanks, I appreciate it, Thank you very
much again, looking forward to your second call. Thanks again.
Speaker 6 (29:58):
Okay, take care, a great night.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Interesting that subjects like this pool our first time callers.
Quick break, I got Jim, Charlie, Mike and Mary, and
then we have the twentieth hour, So don't go anywhere,
stay with us here at Nightside. I got a great
topic for the twentieth hour, trust me on that one.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Okay, we're gonna go next. I tell you we're gonna
go next to talk with Jim. Jim, you were next
on Nightside. Appreciate you calling in. Let's talk about distract
the drive and go ahead, Jim.
Speaker 8 (30:32):
Okay, Dan, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Sir? What's going on.
Speaker 6 (30:37):
Well, my.
Speaker 8 (30:41):
View on this is that, well, to answer your question,
the most distracted thing I ever did was drinking behind
the wheel actually, you know, having an open container and
just drinking some driving down the road.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
But my opinion, gee, I don't know how long ago that,
but that was accepted a long time ago. It was
almost like that, yeah right if passion and people don't
understand that anymore. But mothers again, driving kind of change that,
you know a little bit.
Speaker 8 (31:12):
So my my view on this is that I almost
everyone is either even if they're not looking at a
cell phone or playing with their makeup or something, you know, uh,
their mind could still be somewhere else, so they may
be distracted. And uh so between the people that are
there driving you know, just disobedient to the law and
(31:33):
the ones that are distracted, I figure, everybody's got something
going on and I can't control it. I can't stop
them from being distracted or disobedient, but I just can
be defense, you know, stay defensive. And there's a number
of different defensive driving techniques, but the best one I
ever learned was uh, you know, California Highway Patrol defensive
(31:57):
driving course. They taught me about this thing called the
space cushion. And to me, the space cushion is you know,
and sometimes the space cushion is behind me, and so
I just need to slow down a little bit to
get into it. Sometimes in front of me, so I
got up. But they taught us about the space cushion,
(32:17):
and it's kind of a funny concept when you think
about it, but the space cushion is very to me.
That's kind of my that's my main tactic that I use.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
So what you mean is, don't tailgate the guy in
front of you, particularly in the left lane. Right.
Speaker 8 (32:35):
Well, sometimes, yeah, most of the time that's what it is.
But sometimes you look behind you and it's just nothing
but a gigantic tidal wave of other cars, and you
look in front of you and there's a big open area,
so you can accelerate and go around them and just
get to a place of safety. Another space cushion.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Oh, I get that. But what is always interesting to
me is I like to try to leave a lot
of between myself and the car in front of it,
because I always assume that the person in front of
me might have an animal runout and roll, They might
hit the brakes real quickly. I never I'm not a tailgater.
And I love when you get behind someone in the
left lane it is going slow, they're going sixty five,
(33:16):
so you're backing off you're going sixty five, and or
are you going seventy and they're going seventy and you
have some guy come up behind you doing eighty. I
love to get I used to, you know, say oh,
you know, I'm not now, I move over, I get
out of the way, because then they'll be on that
the bumper of the guy aheadia And it's like a game.
It's almost I watch it. And then when when that
(33:37):
guy gets in the in the left hand lane and
he kicks it up to ninety or something, I think
to myself, you know what if if he'll get caught
and some police office will pull him over and he'll
spend some time on the side of the road. That's
what I think.
Speaker 8 (33:56):
Stay difficult, We got to stay rational and try to
maintain it's cushion.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Absolutely. Hey.
Speaker 8 (34:01):
The other the other thing they taught me about was
the imaginary island.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Really, what's that one?
Speaker 8 (34:08):
Well, they told me there was an imaginary island, and
then they started joking around about were there any girls
on the island or gotcha?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
All right, alright, we'll save that for another night. Thanks Jim,
we'll talk soon. Have a great weekend. Okay, thanks you,
good one bye. Let's go to Charlie and belly him.
Charlie want to get you and Marion havebroline as well.
Go ahead, Charlie, how are you doing that?
Speaker 6 (34:30):
Dane Way?
Speaker 3 (34:31):
I knew it was quite a while when you lived.
I was when you were a reporter. You were on
WBZ with Shelby Scott.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
I was on WBC for thirty one years less five days,
but who's counting.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
I drove cabs too, good time. You know, I'm the
city of Boston.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I did I have a ride of your cab, Charlie.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I picked up so many people of WBZ the thirty
two seeing down the Brighton Center, and I used to
get calls down at w BG hours.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
You're you're you're an experienced driver, and tell us what's
the weirdest thing you've ever seen?
Speaker 3 (35:13):
I wasn't Brighton years. That happened by way. Haggard is
on the corner of H Cornab and UH in Washington
Street there.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Okay, tell us your time as a driver, what's the
weirdest distracted driving that you've ever seen.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Oh that's crazy. You're down here and Bellingham. They drive
like idiots, especially the Rhode Island. Tags like like where
I live, you know, like I'm going down the street
to Steve Women's body. I'm going to Steed women. The
people passing the double swallowed Lyne. You're driving like idiots.
You can go all the way up. You can take
one O nine down here and you can get away
(35:49):
in UHD Midway and you drive all the way up
uh By malls. He's one of the child's here in
western Roxbury.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
I know exactly what you mean.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
You can drive all there's one police schools.
Speaker 6 (36:02):
On the world, not one.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah, well maybe sometimes we don't see them. I don't.
I don't know. Charlie. Have you retired from from driving?
Are you still working?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
No, I'm almost eighty years old. I didn't. I drove
on once in a once in a blue moon, you know,
but about twenty years forty years hopping on. But I drove.
I've done a lot of security with the Special Police.
Live Special Crop in the back of the na Geral
Hopital hot Place. What are your place?
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Yeah? I used to live down by I used to
live in Longfellow Place, long time ago, long time ago.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Judge was down there. Who's at Emerson Place, Judge adlo Oh.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Yeah, surely remember him?
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Drive around, got around the phone there, all right, all.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Right, Charlie, got one more. I gotta get in here,
so I'm gonna bid you.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
That's why I wanted to be faster with jam.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Talk to you soon, jolly appreciate it. Let me go
next to Marion. Hebro Mary next on nice Saga, right ahead,
Hello Dan.
Speaker 9 (37:07):
Nice to hear from you. Well, I'm calling you, thank you.
I have a quick story. My older brother and I
were traveling up to Maine, to Lisbon, Maine because they
have a Moxie festival, the drink, the tonic, the soda,
(37:28):
and his grandson was going to be riding in a
Moxie van, a.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
Cute little one.
Speaker 9 (37:35):
So I believe in GPS, but my brother does not.
We're driving along and I'm sneaking on my phone. I
have the GPS going, and he gets to a point
and he says, dang, I really don't. I'm not really
sure where we are. So he takes out from behind
(37:56):
the seat. Didn't know he had it in the back seat,
a huge mongous Rand McNally.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Map books, an atlas. We would call that a.
Speaker 9 (38:07):
Map at let's take you. I should know that an atlas.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
That's old school. That is old school.
Speaker 9 (38:15):
This was only five years ago, Dan, And he takes it.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
He opens it up.
Speaker 9 (38:21):
It's post a size, and he's driving the car. We're
going sixty five with his knees. And I'm not trying
to freak out, but I just carefully said to him,
we are He said, we're only thirty five miles away.
(38:42):
I said, I'm not, according to my notes here. He
said what I said, we're one hundred and thirty five
miles away. I just I said, please let me use
my phone, please, because.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
I'm flat out of time. Did you finally get there?
Speaker 9 (39:02):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Okay, and I'll bet you you used your GPS and
not his atlas.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah right, all right.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Thanks Mary. Mary. I'm up at the break, so I
gotta let you run. I wish I caught to you earlier.
It was a great story.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
Thank you, thank you, bye bye, all good night.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
I think we're about a time, right Rob. Tell tell
Bobby he wants to hold on, we'll take him on
the other side. I got a good twentieth Hour coming up.
Stay with us one night side
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