TWO THUMBS (part two). KIDS AND CARS
Two weeks ago I had the chance to have a meet ‘n greet with one of the leading authors on brain train and how to unlock your mental potential, Professor Dr. Theo Compernolle.
During our chit chat moment we talked about a healthy way to deal with our connectivity (see two thumbs one) and also about kids and cars.
We both agreed that people have more freedom these days because we can join anyone anywhere in the world in a split second and we can work from where ever we want thanks to our smart devices.
But in many cases this connectivity without borders can also tie us in an unhealthy way.
Let me tell you a story about Brian who lives in Chicago. He is an associate in an investment company who works with private equity. He is a real go-getter and a very pleasant person to be with. He loves his job and family and when he is not covered in snow, like now, his CAR is his office.
But he doesn’t mind, he has a very nice lexus and likes to drive. Every morning when he drives to his first client/investor he calls in at the office to discuss potential investments and the latest news with his ceo and his colleagues. And when he needs to drive to another state he also likes to take his car because he can do all his phone calls in the car and he can read his mails on his mobile.
So by the time he gets home the job is done and he can enjoy being with his wife and kids.
When I told him that every day he drives the size of a soccer field blindfolded and this multiple times a day he was surprised and asked me for some more explanation.
Since our reflection brain is a single tasker it can only do one thing at a present moment.
If you call in your car, even hands free, you higher the risk of having an accident by 8 times.
Texting or reading you mails in the car is even more deadly….. the risk of having an accident rises to a multiple of 23 !!
Research found out that when mailing or texting in the car you have your eyes on your mobile phone for an average of 5 seconds. This is an average, so in reality a lot of times it is more.
Imagine yourself driving 100 km (70 miles) per hour putting your hand before your eyes and count to 5 and then see what happens on the road again….. you get the message ? Doing this you just drove the size of the soccer field I mentioned to Brian.
Brian told me that he understands, but in his case being an experienced driver he knows when to do this and that he can listen to a conversation or look at a text while he has one eye on the road.
To test this I asked him to do the following exercise, you can try this also ;
If you look at this very known picture you can see an old and a young women by changing your vision. (young women with a necklace and an old one with a scarf on her head)
Now to see if you can have one eye on the road and one on your mobile phone try to see the old women and young one at the same time……… ?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Brian sits at home now, enjoying his family and playing in the snow with his kids.
He told me from now on he will pull aside if he needs to text or mail, maybe once in a while he will answer calls when he sits in a traffic jam, but he got the message, because he wants to keep enjoying his family. I hope you do too.
We’ll talk about the two thumb kids next time, enjoy your day.