Short trip to the fitness center

We decided to change our routine a little--we got 4-5" of snow last night (still falling) so rather than take 2 cars to Lifetime Fitness where we work out (about 2 miles), I decided to go with Bob in his car.  We had driven 2 blocks north when his SUV began to spin out--he couldn't get it to straighten out, so on about the 3rd spin as we went into the southbound lane and on coming traffic, he said, "Well, I guess we won't go this morning," and we continued south with our new best friends, and returned to our garage. It's supposed to warm up today, but he was also planning to take paintings to a UAAL show in Friendship Village.  That will need to be evaluated as there are no plows out yet either for our condo or the streets (7:15 a.m.).  I've already got my heart rate up. . . but this is not the way to do it.

More traffic expected around here

Beginning Monday (June 15), work on State Route 315 is expected to generate heavy traffic along Kenny Road, Olentangy River Road, High Street, Lane Avenue and possibly Woody Hayes Drive. Motorists should anticipate traffic delays, and are encouraged to plan accordingly to reduce frustration. More information on this project and a detailed map of entrance and exit ramp closures can be found at http://www.buckeyetraffic.org/315. The Ohio Department of Transportation also will be staffing a telephone line throughout the construction: (740) 833-8268. Read more: http://tp.osu.edu/alerts/summerconstruction.shtml.

Looks like I may have to leave for coffee at 6:15 instead of 6:30.

This research hit a nerve

I read about the cell phone drivers slowing everyone down during commutes last week in the WSJ, but when I googled the story today, that story seemed to be in every paper. It's the kind of thing everyone suspects is true, and then when someone really does the research, it's an Ah-ha moment. Here's the abstract from the research paper done at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Psychology at the University of Utah and prepared for the Transportation Research Board:

ABSTRACT
This research examined the effect of naturalistic, hands-free, cell phone conversation on driver’s lane-changing behavior. Thirty-six undergraduate psychology students drove six 9.2-mile scenarios, in a simulated highway environment, with three levels of traffic density. Participants were instructed only to obey the speed limit and to signal when making a lane change. These simple driving instructions allowed participants to freely vary driving behaviors such as following distance, speed, and lane-changing maneuvers. Results indicated that, when drivers conversed on the cell phone, they made fewer lane changes, had a lower overall mean speed, and a significant increase in travel time in the medium and high density driving conditions. Drivers on the cell phone were also much more likely to remain behind a slower moving lead vehicle than drivers in single-task condition. No effect of cell phone conversation on following distance was observed. Possible implications on traffic flow characteristics are discussed. "Drivers’ Lane Changing Behavior While Conversing On a Cell Phone in a Variable Density Simulated Highway Environment" pdf here

Maybe slowing people down isn't all that bad and will reduce problems later. However, I know that accidents are caused by people distracted by their phones, although conversation with passengers doesn't seem to have the same affect. What bothers me is when I see the little faces of the children and babies, strapped in and bored, with mommy chatting away ignoring the opportunity to interact with them. Dumped even before the day-care door.