Husband insists on distractedly driving dangerously
According to statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (nhtsa.gov), distracted driving accounted for 3,450 deaths in 2016, and 391,000 people were injured in distracted driving accidents that year. If a car is driving 55 mph, and you take your eyes off the road for even a second to check a text, your car is driving the length of a football field without you watching the road.
Your husband may not value your life, his life, or others' lives enough to make a different choice. But you value all of these things, and so you should force the issue by "not letting" him drive you under these dangerous conditions.
The next time you two are about to take a longer trip, you should urge him -- using all of the logical arguments -- to either turn over the driving to you, or to basically let you co-pilot his phone. If he refuses, you should rent (or borrow) a car, and tell him you'll meet him at your destination.
Dear Amy: Last week at my favorite daily coffee shop, two college-age girls moved into the booth behind me. I heard all of their loud conversation: The descriptions of their boyfriends' sexual proclivities and abilities were astounding. Their women friends were also discussed in much detail.
Because I was not finished my meal and the small shop was full, I did not wish to move.
They then started to clip their nails and do their makeup, all the while discussing the boys and their female acquaintances.
I'm an old man, unused to and disturbed by such behavior.
Regardless of receiving a rude reply, should I have said anything to them? Or was I correct in foregoing my coffee treat and departing quickly?
-- Coffee Shop Patron, Ontario
Dear Patron: I'm going to share a sad reality of my job: Sometimes I have to tell people in distress that there is nothing tangible they can realistically do to inspire other people to behave differently.
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