Dear Action Line: Yesterday afternoon I was driving north on north Main Avenue, and noticed a car with California plates weaving in and out of the lane next to me. Normally I would say that’s not unusual, but the reason why was. On the cellphone? No. Eating a Whopper? No. He was flossing, with both hands. So I suggest Colorado Department of Transportation installs these “no flossing” signs (see accompanying artwork) at strategic locations on north Main. – Dentist the Menace
Dear Dentist: That’s a new one on Action Line, but apparently it has become a thing.
There are lots of reasons for distracted driving. An insurance company’s unscientific survey several years ago found these eye-opening statistics:
Fifteen percent of respondents had taken part in a “romantic encounter” while at the wheel. Do you sing or even dance while driving? Forty-three percent of us do. Action Line doesn’t understand why singing is a distraction, and definitely will continue to play drums on the wheel.
Thirty percent of us apply makeup, 15% read and 9% have changed clothes. (Does taking off a coat count?) Flossing or brushing teeth? Four percent of you do that. And 3% of you go to the bathroom, a skill certainly worth mastering. (That means peeing into a bottle …?)
And we haven’t even talked about the worst and most common distractive habit: texting or otherwise using the cellphone while driving.
This is all evidence that it’s high time we begin using self-driving vehicles. Humans of 2024 are no longer capable of just doing one thing at a time – in this case, driving a vehicle, hands on the wheel in the 10 and 2 o’clock positions. (If you don’t know about 10 and 2, which nowadays apparently has changed to 9 and 3, go take remedial driver’s ed, please.)
By the way, April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, brought to you annually by the nonprofit National Safety Council. The council says nine Americans are killed daily in distracted driving accidents.
Flossing while driving could potentially get you a ticket, and furthermore, it’s just weird. When you floss, things sometimes come flying out of your mouth – spittle or food pieces or, if you’re having a really bad day, loose fillings.
Those in the dental business are aware of the issue and have some opinions about flossing while driving.
“Plenty of people do,” said a retired local dental hygienist who wished to remain anonymous. She then blew Action Line’s mind: “My retired hygienist friends were just discussing that over coffee last week. I’m serious.”
Dental hygiene doesn’t stop at the dentist’s office, she pointed out.
“Ever notice how many horseshoe-shaped flossers are on the ground everywhere, and in parking lots? I’m glad people are flossing, but it is disgusting trash. Come on, people!”
And the final expert word: “Floss at home. With both hands.”
Dear Action Line: Durango Live Cam has been offline for the last few weeks. Is it going to be fixed? Who runs it? – Concerned Viewer
Dear C.V.: This question came a month or so ago regarding the www.durangolivecam.com website. At the time, a couple of cameras were sort of working, others updated infrequently (like in the middle of a pitch-black night), and still others hadn’t updated in months.
In seeking an answer to this question, Action Line contacted Visit Durango (a sponsor), Durango Business Improvement District and others who seemingly might know who was running the site and cameras. Action Line sent emails and made calls, and even trekked up Smelter Mountain to talk to the camera operator, only to find no one there! What, they think these cameras are just going to run themselves?
Action Line went to the address of a business that might have some answers, only to find the doors locked. No one was inside – just a snow shovel, which refused Action Line’s repeated shouts to please be allowed in.
But, good news: As of last week, the “Smelter Mountain Live Cam” and most of the other cameras on the site seemed to be working again.
Action Line will take full credit for pretty much single-handedly fixing this issue. It must have been the run-in with the cantankerous snow shovel that did it.
If anyone out there knows whom to contact about these webcams, please let Action Line know.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You may have noticed that no Roy Scheider movies were mentioned today. But let’s not forget him. Did Scheider believe in dental hygiene, even after watching his brother being tortured in a dental chair in “Marathon Man”? One would like to think so, but unfortunately, we will never know.
