I drafted this article on attention and safety while flying to Erie, Pa., to present an ASSE workshop. Little did I know it would underscore many of the points I wanted to make. After landing, I took a cab to my hotel. Along the way I called in for messages, but was interrupted when the cabbie started asking me about the Virginia Tech football team.
I put down my cell phone and talked Hokies football until reaching the hotel. In my room, I reached in my backpack for my cell phone to get back to those messages. Guess what? It wasn’t there. I called the cab driver, and sure enough, the phone was in the backseat.