The Mount Seymour Parkway crash that sent a 70year-old pedestrian to hospital this week was doubtless unintentional, small consolation though that may be.
Former Apple chairman Steve Jobs talked a lot about inventing tomorrow, and for the generation who increasingly treat smartphones like a physical appendage, his words have a haunting ring of prophecy.
Many drivers seem to feel an irresistible need to text, update and tweet while at the wheel, rationalizing that the traffic light is red and this will only take a second.
It is illegal to use a hand-held electronic device while driving in British Columbia, but that law may not go far enough.
According to a study from Monash University in Australia, using a mobile phone while driving raises the risk of a crash by 400 per cent, whether hands-free or not.
Reaction time slows, the car's speed and lateral position become unsteady, and the driver's visual search patterns are impaired.
Just like an open can of beer is legally required to be out of reach of drivers in this province, cellphones and iPods should probably be in the trunk before you get behind the wheel.
The birds will still be angry and your Second Life avatar will still be alive when your first-life avatar reaches his destination.
Tomorrow may have been invented, but the way people drive here is enough to make you long for yesterday.
