Autorotica

CMAJ 1998;159:1455

Canadians' love affair with the automobile seems as torrid as ever, as indicated by the degree to which everyday activities now take place in our cars. These days, a new model just won't sell if it doesn't have enough cup-holders for everyone, including the baby. The fact that some drivers seem to use these accessories to hold beer cans is reflected in the regrettable statistics implicating alcohol use in car crashes. Less well studied are other, seemingly innocuous activities — some compulsive, some bizarre — that also contribute to motor vehicle crashes.

A small study of these behaviours was conducted recently. Several activities were identified as meeting the criteria of "in-car behaviours" likely to be associated with a crash. The most frequently recorded activity causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles was consumption of food while driving. Some of these drivers gave new meaning to the concept of "drive-through," having driven through red lights, the sides of buildings and hedges while sipping their morning java. Officers at the scenes of some accidents recorded virtual smorgasbords inside the vehicles: ketchup (sometimes indistinguishable from the blood), fries, bagels, take-out Chinese food, perogies and pizza, all covered with a fine film of cappuccino.

A close second as a cause of non-alcohol-related collisions was the cell phone. Many of the victims were found with phone aerials jammed into their ears; those who survived were generally more concerned with missing their calls than with their broken limbs. (Many continued to make calls from the ambulance, pleased they could let their loved ones know which hospital they were heading toward.)

En-route appearance maintenance — the industry term for primping, cutting fingernails, checking for blemishes in the rearview mirror, and other similar activities — accounted for a significant proportion of collisions. Nose picking also caused much driver distraction, although it was vigorously denied by most of those interviewed. Typically, these drivers claimed that they were only scratching their noses. [This phenomenon has since become known as the Seinfeld syndrome. — Ed.]

"Autorotica" is the term we propose to describe persistent, self-absorbed behaviours that are performed in automobiles and preoccupy drivers so much that they imperil their own safety and that of others. Most of these activities have traditionally been performed in the privacy of the home — back-seat petting notwithstanding, the car has not been considered an extension of the home until relatively recently. But as in-car phones, CD players, climate control and adjustable seating for the driver become increasingly common, we can only expect that more people will live out their lives in their cars (it is rumoured that the little container on the dash of the new Beetle is actually a toothbrush holder disguised as a flower vase).

The solution to the problem is less apparent, and more research is clearly needed.

Bryan Cummings, MD
Principal investigator
Calgary, Alta.

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