Speaking of multitasking...
French long-distance truck drivers have sparked alarm with a new pastime for beating boredom at the wheel: watching television.
From today, police have been ordered to keep a close watch on the cabs of heavy goods vehicles after reports that drivers are putting their feet up on the dashboard and watching videos or playing computer games while steaming along at 90 kilometres per hour.
To take their eyes off the road, they have devised a technique for "driving by ear," according to Le Figaro.
When traffic is not too dense, the driver sets the truck on cruise control and puts its right wheels on the band that marks the edge of the hard shoulder. These are often ribbed and are meant to create a noise to alert sleepy drivers that they are heading off the road.
The driver then steers by sound, leaving him free to watch a DVD, play a game or read, witnesses say.
Links: Truckers drive 'by ear' so they can keep eye on TV (Ottawa Citizen/Times of London), or in French: Ces routiers qui regardent la télévision en conduisant (Le Figaro). Via Watching TV Online.
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