Ogling of Women a Leading Cause of Car Accidents in Colombia

National Post [Canada] ^ | Thursday,June 15, 2006 | Canadian Press

[canuck_conservative]

In Colombia, beauty can kill. Drivers ogling attractive women rather than paying attention to the road are one of the South American country's leading causes of car accidents.

Distraction was the No. 1 cause of the 115,000 road accidents in Colombia last year, costing the equivalent of about $250 million Cdn, according to research by the Road Safety Fund, a private organization.

The cell phone was the biggest distraction for drivers, accounting for about 10 per cent of all accidents. Second was men staring at women, which accounted for nearly one in 20 crashes.

"It's a culture here of drivers honking the horn at an attractive woman, throwing her some compliment as he drives past, and he's not concentrating on driving," the group's director, Francisco Fernandez, told a news conference.

His presentation included close-up images of attractive women in miniskirts to remind the audience of the extent of this danger.

More than 1,300 drivers were interviewed for the study conducted by the fund, a private group made up of insurance companies.

Colombia has been improving its road safety, bringing down accidents from an average of 200,000 per year to just over 115,000 last year.

But with potholed roads traversing treacherous mountain ranges and drivers who don't think twice about overtaking on blind corners, driving in Colombia can still be a dangerous endeavour.

While authorities have begun fining those caught driving and speaking on a cell phone - sanctioning more than 17,000 drivers in Bogota alone last year - the fund is recommending less draconian methods to discourage men from looking at women while driving.

"We are hoping for an educational campaign, to inform drivers of how dangerous this can be," said Fernandez.

Other listed distractions were drivers fussing with their appearances and looking at advertising - which in Colombia often features scantily clad women.

The study found that as male drivers grow older, they get grumpier: less focused on women but more inclined to be distracted by arguing with their passengers.

"Around the world, distraction is one of the leading causes of accidents. The reasons for distractions are different for each culture," Fernandez said. "In the United States, research has found a large cause of distraction is eating while driving, something not seen here."

© The Canadian Press 2006

[dfwgator]

They do respect her but(t)

They love to watch her strut.

[PissAndVinegar]

Well it's not to difficult during the summer up here in the Northeast but during the winter, there can be some....shrinkage...which can impair your abilites :)

[StJacques]

"I'd need some photographic proof..."

From my year in Colombia bigbob let me say that the outstanding qualities of Colombian beauty derive from the fact that Colombian women are more "purely Spanish" in ancestry than those of most other Latin American countries and their daily lives are marked by extensive walking up and down very mountainous terrain -- even their cities are quite hilly, which keeps them in fine physical shape. The ideal of Colombian beauty is a slender woman of radiant good health who would look indistinguishable from a Spanish beauty from say, Andalusia, that region of southern Spain that provided the majority of settlers to the country.

[Serb5150]

"It's a culture here of drivers honking the horn at an attractive woman, throwing her some compliment as he drives past, and he's not concentrating on driving..."

Charming. This probably ranks up there with catcalls and whistles from construction workers.

[A Troop 1-14 Cav]

Bingo!

[zipper]

Drivers ogling attractive women rather than paying attention to the road are one of the South American country's leading causes of car accidents.

The obvious solution is to have a massive exchange program-- our fat American women for their slender Columbian beauties. Pound for pound of course, so we'll probably get two women for every one they get.

We'll worry about the so-called distraction "problems" later.

[CubaninMiami]

Beautiful but deadly...plenty of these Colombian women down here in Miami, usually not the kind you take home to mama.

[BobS]

That's what I did around Madrid, Spain para tres anos. Those women slap you twice to make sure you are paying attention to them and stop acting like an ape.

Get enough women worked up in various countries and you will find out they all speak the same language:)

[Draco]

Thank you for that pictoral post, St. Jacques. A friend native to Colombia advised to go to Medellin to find a wife but to Cali to find a lover. He claimed this is "common wisdom" in Colombia. Do you miss colombia?

[wallcrawlr]

ummmm...you should see this

[Toby06]

How did I miss it?

[RdhseRat]

The only thing better than ogling Colombian ladies. And that is ogling a Colombian lady, who is riding a motor scooter in an afternoon downpour! Just make sure someone else is driving the car.

[numberonepal]

ping

[Toby06]

Check this out!

Ogling Breasts Makes Men Live Longer
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa072600a.htm

[BJClinton]

This thread is worthless without pics.

[Recon Dad]

Not like that any more. Everybody is driving new cars. Lots of local dealerships.

[wallcrawlr]

http://www.bogotabeauties.com

[Toby06]

For research purposes only. Now you know why they crash!

[wallcrawlr]

cant right now...im busy

[68skylark]

Cool photo.