Not as distracted as you might think

Statistically speaking, I'm a distracted driver.

In fact, statistically speaking, I'm more distracted behind the wheel by my cell phone than drivers half my age and younger.

I say statistically speaking based on a recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project that shows Baby Boomers as a group are distracted drivers because of their cell phone use.

It says: "Fully 61% of adults say they have talked on their cell phones while they were behind the wheel. That is considerably greater than the number of 16- and 17-year-olds (43%) who have talked on their cells while driving."

I can see how this is true. When I walk or run along my usual route, I see a lot of commuter traffic and I'm always amazed at the number of people -- older and younger adults like -- who are talking on the phone. Or they are holding their cell phone and texting with a thumb. And this while they're approaching a traffic light in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I'm surprised there aren't more bumper car accidents than there are.

I'll admit to being distracted on occasion, but it isn't by my cell phone. Primarily, it's the stuff going on in my head as I travel from Point A to Point B.

My biggest distracted offense is forgetting to turn off my turn signal.

Yes, I'm one of those drivers: blithely driving down the road my turn signal indicating a turn to nowhere.

I'm very aware about turning my signal on to make a turn; I'm bad about turning the indicator off after I've made the turn.

The problem is those turns that aren't sharp enough for the indicator to shut off by itself. If I'm merging in or out of traffic, if I'm exiting onto an off ramp, if I'm indicating a turn at a fork in the road, the indicator is likely to stay on.

Just ask my son David. He's the one, if he's in the car, who is always telling me to turn off my turn signal.

I don't know what I'm thinking about that excludes me from turning off the indicator. I can't hear it the tick-tick-tick, which is part of the problem of being distracted. You get so closed into your head that it distracts you from other things going on outside of your head.

I know I'm not alone in distractions that have nothing to do with a cell phone.

I pulled away from the grocery store parking lot the other day to see an older gentleman behind the wheel of his new generation station wagon/SUV mixed breed with the tailgate of his vehicle lifted wide open. I thought he must have a big load in the back to be driving around like that. But no ... there was nothing in the rear of the car to warrant the tailgate being open.

It seems he just forgot about the tailgate and was distracted enough not to realize the road noise or the warning light on his dashboard.

I almost preferred that the guy would have been on the phone.

He and I need a better excuse than the things roiling around in our heads as a reason for our distractions.