Bookmarks Jan/Feb - Page 7


Perhaps most important, suggests Vanderbilt, we're blinded by the misconception that when we drive, we're safe and in control; hence, many people are afraid to fly and drive long distances to avoid it, even though they're much likelier to die in a traffic accident than in an air crash. Plus, argues Vanderbilt, we believe life is "less risky when we can feel a personal benefit." We want to drive: it suits our lifestyles, so we downplay the risk.

Therapists, here's timely advice for you from the exacting world of traffic research: when you drive to the office, don't use your cell phone, don't eat your breakfast, don't spill coffee on yourself, stop fiddling with your radio, be supercareful at intersections, and please try to see those invisible stop signs you never really stop at. Or if that's too much to ask, at least cultivate more awareness of the possible dangers of the road, as you'd counsel your clients and patients to do in their own lives. If you pay more attention to the road and less to distractions, you have a better chance of seeing, and getting out of the way of, that 3,000-pound gorilla roaring up in the lane behind you.

Richard Handler is a radio producer withthe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Canada. Contact: rhandler@sympatico.ca. Letters to the Editor about this article may be sent to letters@psychnetworker.org.

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