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The Accidental Journalist (an occasional series chronicling how predictable, preventable crashes are turned into accidents)

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Police say Hunt told them shortly after the May 2 accident that she was applying red polish to her nails as she drove at about 50 mph toward an intersection and did not see motorcyclist Anita Zaffke until after she hit her.

Zaffke, 56, who lived in Lake Zurich, was stopped at a traffic signal when she was struck.

The driver, by the way, was charged with reckless homicide.

(thanks Alex)

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am and is filed under The Accidental Journalist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “The Accidental Journalist (an occasional series chronicling how predictable, preventable crashes are turned into accidents)”

  1. Tony Toews Says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    Excellent. Glad to read she was charged.

    But I’m curious. The story states “indicted [her] on six counts of reckless homicide.” But only one person was killed.

  2. Tom L Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    Cars have become so automated that way too many drivers act as if they can do all kinds of other tasks, and for all intents and purposes, ignore driving. Scares the heck out of me.

    I am very concerned about the new adaptive cruise control systems and automatic braking systems slaved to radars, which will allow drivers to follow even more closely, I mean, tailgate, than they already do these days.

    Perhaps we should restrict cars with automatic transmissions to the right lane, where people can do personal grooming, eat a meal, check email, trade securities, update their social networks, Twitter, read a book or newspaper or any of 10,000 other tasks at a very slow speeds.

    Maneuvering a 1-1/2 to 2 ton vehicle safely at 65 mph requires a lot of concentration by the driver. Every minute you drive, you are making dozens of front, rear and side scans to maintain good situational awareness, and even more micro-decisions to keep your car positioned in your lane and safely spaced from other cars.

    Driving while not paying attention should be a serious infraction in all circumstances. We don’t need special categories for using cell phones, texting, applying nail polish, etc.

  3. Jimmy Z Says:
    September 29th, 2009 at 10:36 am

    another one: http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/EastVolusia/evlEAST04A092909.htm

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Traffic Tom Vanderbilt

How We Drive is the companion blog to Tom Vanderbilt’s New York Times bestselling book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K, and in languages other than English by a number of other fine publishers worldwide.

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