My Roving Barcalounger

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While it's still too early to gauge the precise safety impact of such high-tech amusements, there's ample evidence that the driving public already pays far too little attention to the road. In June, researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released the results of a yearlong study showing that driver distractions--including such low-tech basics as eating, chatting with passengers and fiddling with the radio--account for nearly 80% of crashes. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released similar reports detailing the link between various distractions and vehicular crack-ups. And the British Medical Journal added to the mound of data about the dangers of dialing while driving when it reported last month that gabbing on a cell phone (even the hands-free variety) quadruples your risk of getting into an accident requiring a trip to the hospital.

Of course, each year also brings new reports on the ballooning number of hours Americans spend commuting and chauffeuring the kids between soccer, ballet, T-ball, karate and tuba lessons. Because we can't be at home, kicking back in the Barcalounger with a tall cold one, we're dead set on making our motoring experience feel like the next best thing. But driving a car--particularly the supersize models--really should demand more concentration than, say, slouching slack-jawed in front of the wide screen in your den. And who knows? Maybe if we were a little less content to veg out in our wombs-on-wheels, we might work a little harder on ways to spend less time on the road.

Contemplating the downsides of so much vehicular comfort and entertainment, I find myself getting anxious all over again about having taken the minivan plunge. Maybe I should call the dealer and see if it's too late to swap my new blue marvel for a stripped-down subcompact with no AC, no stereo and bad suspension--just to be safe.