Pete C.
Listen. The lens in your eye can only focus at one distance at a time. You can't naturally focus on something far away and something close at the same time. This is true regardless if the object is center field or peripheral.
There are exceptions, like having lasik surgery so one eye is optimized for close up and the other for far away (the brain does amazing tricks choosing the best image depending on what you are looking at). Even then both eyes will focus at the same object best they can until you shift your *attention* to another object. The fact that you may be able to read your text messages without looking down ignores the fact that your attention is diverted to something else other than surveying the road ahead (and to the side and rear as well).
Ever get chastised by a pbuttenger for 'braking late' after something happened on the road? Oftentimes one glances in the rear view mirror, at the fuel guage or some such activity, which may result in slower reactions than the pbuttengers to an event ahead. Using a cell phone to talk or text message increases the frequency of distractions and the likelyhood that you'll miss something of importance to your long term well being.
Someone I know was driving home several hundred miles on the interstate. Bored to tears on a very quite strecth she decided to use her time to enter in her contacts into the new cell phone she just got. She missed the spilt in the interstate and ended up an extra hour from home heading towards the wrong city. No accident, but evidence enough that entering data into a cell phone is a distraction that can cause you to miss something significant on the roadway.
JP
-- JP White
