Farding While Driving; More Dangerous than Cell Phones?

WASHINGTON - You can't fard while driving in the District. No, it's not a typo, that's fard with a "d." It's a word derived from the French and means to apply make-up.

As far as distractions go, many say farding while behind the wheel can be just as dangerous as talking on your cell phone. Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA- MidAtlantic says often times it can be even worse.

"Presumably to put on make-up straight, you've got to be looking at your face in the mirror," said Anderson. "You certainly can't do that and drive."

Anderson says in the District anything that distracts your driving is against the law-- all part of the Distracted Driving Safety Act of 2004 that made talking on your cell phone without a hands-free device illegal.

"The bill gives police much broader powers to ticket people for infractions such as using their Blackberry, putting on make-up, reading, and eating."

While people tend to focus on cell phones as the problem, Anderson says research by AAA shows the distracted driving issue is more complex.

"You can talk on your cell phone and drive and not get in a crash. But other distractions, like putting on make-up, require far more attention off the road. Cell phones are just one component of a very dangerous area of distracted driving."

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