Hands-free phones are a safer way to make calls while driving – and in a lot of states, it’s the only legal option. The Vacation Gals understand how sometimes being on the phone is imperative while on a car trip – even though it’s still a form of distraction – so we’re happy to host this contest giveaway. The Parrot Minikit Chic, a stylish and very functional Bluetooth hands-free speakerphone, clips right onto a car’s sun visor so that the whole family can be in on the call. We recommend this useful travel gadget and appreciate the chance to give one away to a lucky winner. Thank you, Parrot.com.
To enter this contest giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment below describing a time you were distracted while driving. Hope it wasn’t too scary. This giveaway is open to US residents only (it’s a shipping costs thing), and the winner will be selected at random. Contest open until 6PM PST, Tuesday October 13, 2009. If you’re related to one of The Vacation Gals, please don’t enter. Sorry, Mom!
When the baby starts crying.
One time my daughter threw up all over the backseat after too much carnival food at the fair. That was very distracting!
I had securely placed my 12 month old daughter in her five point car seat and was driving down the freeway. Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hi mama!”, yes it was my daughter. I quickly moved to the shoulder and placed her back in her car seat with a strong and firm admonishment. The child is a budding Houdini!
Thank you.
When my sons were in the back of the car and one was sick…very distracting, while driving on a highway.
Would really love this hands free speakerphone. Thanks so much for this chance.
ummm, everyday when my kids are in the car arguing.
When I’m trying to eat breakfast and I’m late to work.
When a bee flew into the car
Big, hairy, scary spider descended directly in front of my face. It took a moment for my eyes to focus because I was looking down the road. My heart is racing remembering it!
Only been in one fender bender and it was when I was pregnant and on the phone – not good and yes, very scary
tvollowitz at aol dot com
sign me up
BY OTHER DUMB DRIVERS
I hate to admit it, but I still haven’t found a hands free that I regularly use. I guess that means I’m distracted all the time when I’m on the phone.
back in 1994 i had a bad car accident when i was distracted by my BIG bag car cell phone!
I was trying to answer my phone, which was plugged into the charger and wrapped around the shifter which I dropped under my feet and it got stuck under the brake. Lucky for me I managed to kick it free with my other foot before I got in an accident. Very very scary!
Just tonight I was looking for an address on house on a poorly lit street, and while calling to find the house I almost drove into someone’s driveway… and their car.
My sons were in the backseat demanding mcDonalds while my phone was ringing…so distracting!
I turned around to talk/yell at the kids
I get distracted when my phone rings and I don’t know where it is. Having a BT headset would solve all of my problems!!!!!! Thanks!
taking my grandson to the ER when he sliced his thunb open was very distracking as he was screaming in the back seat!! he got 7 stitches by the way!!!
LOOKIMG FOR A BLURTOOTH!
I get distracted when my kids say, “Mom, LOOK!” from the backseat. I’m never sure if there’s a 18-wheeler barreling down on us or if it’s just a funny sign they saw. Thanks for the contest!
pretty much all the time when i’m jammin out!
autumn398 @ yahoo.com
I had a situation once when I was driving on the highway at night, in the rain… and my mom called. I reached for my phone in my purse and almost lost control of the car. I learned my lesson and now just let the phone ring and then return the call at the next rest stop/safe place to stop. Having a hands-free speaker phone would allow me to stay in communication with my family when traveling.
One time a bee flew into the car, thankfully, opening another window allowed him to escape.
a bug in the car
I wasp flew in the car and I am quite allergic. Thanks for the chance.
mogrill@comcast.net
My 2 year old escaped from her car seat once while I was on the highway. I’m suprised I didn’t wreck trying to pull of the road.
When we first moved Brenna into a booster seat she couldn’t unbuckle herself. Unfortunately she learned quickly- and unbuckled while we were driving. Of course that wasn’t as scary as the time she opened a car door while we were on the interstate. I could have sworn the child-proof lock was on! It is now!
What a great gadget and such perfect timing on your post!!! Thank you so much for signing today the “Mom Sends a Msg” pledge (www.momsmsg.com) to reduce distracted driving! As a few people have said here already, it sure is scary to be fumbling for the phone while going flying down the road. Thanks – you rock!!!
My nieces were having a battle royale in the back seat with the non-stop arguing. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I could barely focus on the road.
I cant stand the car seat in the back seat and u have no idea how distracting that can be
I was distracted when my daughter was in the backseat. She was about 1. She had been ill. She started vomiting. I was trying to help, comfort her, and drive. I should have pulled over but I was to busy being scared she was going to choke on her vomit. Anyway I almost hit another car who had to come to an abrubt stop. I am thankful to this day that I could stop in time;-)
I was driving on the freeway with my four-year-old son fastened in the back seat. He was holding a long rubber snake that he had received at a day-care program. He demanded a stop at Target and when I said no, suddenly something lashed across my face. I managed to get off the freeway and stop—he had used the snake like a whip to demonstrate his frustration at not getting his wish! I was pretty shaken, not to mention disappointed in his behavior!
I definitely got distracted when my dog pooed on my lap from having a stomach bug. It was not pleasant, and it was also quite smelly.
Distracted when burning cigar ash fell on my lap. Please accept my entry. Thank you.
The kids always distract me while I’m driving. I’ve learned to put up those circular stick’em mirrors to keep a quick eye on what’s going on. That and a portable DVD player. THANK YOU dvd player maker guy.
when the kids start talking to me
There was a bee in the car, it was so scary!
I get distracted by cellphone calls.
We had a Pine Beetle fly into the car while we were on the highway.
only time i was distracted was when my friend was puking in the back seat one night
I have found myself on the wrong side of the road..
a dame bee flew in the car and a hell broke loose
Multiple times, when things got a little hectic in the back seat. Never was bad enough for anything to happen, but I did have to pull over fairly often!
naked chic on the sidewalk
I was distracted by my crying dog on the way to the vet. It is an uneasy feeling when you cant completely focus on your driving.
I had been broken up with my boyfriend of three years for not enough time to be fully recovered yet. My girl friend and I were meeting for brunch after I had worked at church that Sunday morning. It was a very snowy, windy and overall ugly day in Michigan. Before I left church, my friend called me to confirm our brunch, and told me that she had seen my ex boyfriend with a new girlfriend at a bar the previous night.
It shook me a lot, and I called up another friend on the way to brunch. I was almost at the restaurant, and I just had to turn left. The weather was really bad, I was on top of a hill and couldn’t see people going up the hill on the other side of the road. I was next to the light, so many people were using the lanes, making it hard to turn left.
I waited until their lights turned green and that they all cleared the way, looked to the right of their lane to make sure nobody was coming, before making my left turn into the restaurant parking lot.
I was trying to make sense of what my friend had told me when I looked to my right and realized that a car had come up from the hill and seemed to be going too fast to avoid me.
I screamed, and the next thing I knew, my car was crushed against the path walk, my phone and my glasses had flown away, and the driver of the other car was screaming at me and calling the police.
I had no idea what to do so I waited to the police. I was just so scared and somewhat relieved to see that nobody seemed to have been injured.
My old 87 car was pretty beat up, but could probably still run (it turned out that it could, as long as I didn’t mind the snow that came in through the hole between the top of the right side door and the roof of the car that was created during the accident).
The policeman came, decided that I had failed to yield a left turn and not only blamed me, but also gave me a ticket for it.
As a result, I still can’t get affordable insurance, because that accident shows up as two offenses.
Lesson learned: do not drive after hearing news that shakes you up, and do not talk on the phone while driving.
I was driving down the road and a wasp decided to come flying around my windshield. Luckily I got the passenger window open and he flew out
I had placed my cell phone on the passenger seat next to me when I was driving home one night. I had slamed on the brakes because a car had pulled out in front of me and my cell phone went flying down onto the floorboard of the car. I decided to just leave it there and I would get it when I got home in a few minutes. Well of course my phone went off and I got distracted while looking at who it said it was calling on the screen and my car drifted and hit a guard rail along the road. Luckly I was the only person on the road at the time and the guard rail was there or I would have ended up in the ditch. I now have a huge scratch all down the right side of my car. Oh sometimes I wonder why I do stupid things like that. Oh and the person on my cell phone calling was a wrong number after all that.
I got distracted one night when my daughter started screaming like she was in desparate pain. I pulled over and to see what was wrong and there was a moth in the car. Not even a bee, a moth. She was 12 years old and having hysterics over a moth.
However the kids are useful when the phone rings in the car. Since I don’t have a hands free device I have the kids answer the phone and take a message if it rings while I’m driving.
While listening to a book on tape. I ended up getting a speeding ticket because I wasn’t concentrating on driving.
I was distracted by a soft drink spilling in my car. I went off the road and over a curb and tore up something on the car.
I was distracted when a bee flew in an open window. Luckily, I was near a parking lot so I quickly pulled in and parked to let the bugger out.
Driving down California’s famed speed-commute I-5 at “average traffic speed” (read: 75mph, bumper-to-bumper), when my dog starts that pre-puke gagging…and he’s standing in the back seat with his nose over my shoulder.
It takes great discipline to focus on safely merging across five rush-hour lanes to exit so you can clean dog puke off your seat, hair, and clothes.
I was trying to defrost my windows while it was raining pretty heavily and the defroster wasn’t working. While I was fidgeting with it I slammed into a pole. Luckily I was in a parking lot and no one was around but it completely ruined my car!
This one has to be the scariest, but in retrospect, almost comical. I found an injured young blue jay and was taking it to the vet. I had it in a box, and it was very quiet, right from when I got it. I figured it would sleep on the way to the vet. I never dreamed it would start flying around in my car! I had to pull over, talk about distracting. Turned out it had an injured wing, the vet fixed it, and a month later, she was set free.
When I was actually answering a call and trying to figure out how to find & hit the speaker phone button on my new phone. Then I place the phone on my lap (no hands) because here in CA we have a hands free law. Already got a ticket for having it on speaker phone, but holding it in my hand. Hello $160 ticket.
I have my hands ful just trying to keep my 15 month old happy in the car without trying to manage a phone call too. When I have to make a call I usually wait for a red light then make the call and make it a quickie! We have a no cell phone law without a hands free device in WA and I am really pushing it just trying to make a quick call at a red light.
A time when I was distracted while driving? How about EVERY time my husband is in the car with me! Turning on the ignition is like flipping on the vocal cords with him.
I pretty much stay focused when driving but recently I was focused on looking at the street signs because I had missed my turn and was trying to get back to main road because we were lost and sadly missed a stop sign and did a rolling stop through the corner and sadly got into a accident thank god nobody was really hurt but the lady that hit the our car sued my insurance so was a costly price for my very first accident. Even though we never got ticket I still felt bad so now I truly stay focused on driving.
Thank you so very very much
camper223[at]live[dot]com
My daughter started choking while we were on our way to her grandma’s. She was fine but it really scared me.
When I am driving and I am lost asnd trying to read street signs!
Very Nice item
I was never distracted while driving.
When the food from the drive thru tipped over in the holder they give you, on the way home
electricisland(at)gmail.com
You probably get this a lot, but it was when someone that was talking on their phone ran me off the road.
I’m from Denver, Colorado! And a few years ago, my friends and I had just had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in Downtown Denver. We were driving home and we spotted Kobe Bryant leaving a downtown nightclub! We all immediately started snapping pictures with our camera phones and in the process – almost crashed into a police car! Luckily, the policemen were also in ‘awe’ of the NBA star and didn’t ticket us!
I can only talk about ONE time I was distracted while driving?? I would love to say that it rarely ever happens but everyone knows that we live in a world which we all try to do to much in the same amount of time as we had before the wonders of technology! So, one time I was distracted from my driving while putting on pantyhose on my way to work. Of course I swerved into another lane and luckily there wasn’t another car there at the same time!
I was talking to my son’s school, and dropped the phone, and it fell right by my feet (while I was driving.)
when my grandaughter climbed out of her carseat
Once a bee flew in my car and I was so distracted trying to shoo it back out the window that I ran off in a field.
when the kids are yelling or fighting!
ardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com
When an animal runs along the road or crosses the road.
any time a stray dog run across the road
I was distracted when my son kicked the back of my seat really hard.
I often get distracted when my phone starts ringing while I am driving. It’s hard to find a little bitty phone in a big cluttered purse while driving. I have ran off the road once doing that….ooopsie
My son threw his water bottle in the front seat and it rolled under my foot.
When my son was a baby/toddler, he managed to take off his shoe and throw it at me while I was driving. He had pretty good aim from his child seat. It hit me in the head. How can you not laugh at a baby laughing at you. Thanks for the giveaway!
I got distracted by a double rainbow the other day. Thought I looked up for just a moment, and as I was awed by the miracle of nature, veered off the road. No good solution for that other than to pull over without even glancing next time!
Driving my four kids to school. Two were arguing over who was taking up more room. I glanced back to intervene and swerved. Not good. And it was only a 5 minute drive to school!
I was really distracted the first time I drove my cat to the vet and I didn’t have a kennel for her!
I try not to answer the phone while driving because EVERY time I do I nearly run off the road…I can’t do both at once!
My daughter is always asking me to look at something other then the road when we are driving. SO far, no accidents, but we have come close a few times.
madamerkf at aol dot com
When someone can’t stop yapping from the passenger seat
When my son is trying to get up in the back seat and trys to stand when i am trying to drive.
asha.marie@hotmail.com
Every moment in the car with my 5 boys is distracting, but one incident that stands out the most is when my son was a newborn and I was rushing him to the hospital, because he was bleeding from his rectum. I was trying to control his crying and trying to reach my husband at work to let him know what was going on.
To be honest, the worse feeling is that I don’t remember even driving to the hospital, it’s a blur. Did I stop for red lights? Did I cruise though stop signs? Was I speeding? I have no idea…scary!
I get distracted when driving when I am lost looking for a house number since I do this for a living.
I distracted myself by trying to see if a furniture store was going out of business. When I looked back to the road, the cars in front were stopped, and I ended up in the road median, covered in coffee.
I had a scary episode a few months ago when a bee was inside and I was trying to avoid it and open windows and keep my eyes on the road all at the same time. Yikes!
When I was 16, I was too busy making google eyes at my then boyfriend (now husband) and almost crashed into a barrier.
I turned around to talk to the kids.
I was distracted once when my sunroof was open and I thought a bird was heading right towards it.
While driving on the LI Expressway I came across a ladder in my lane and no p[lace to go. I squeezed onto the shoulder and avoided an accident but was mighty shaken
My 4 year old when she was younger started choking on something she was eating in the back seat. I was SO scared! We’re used to the puking, both youngest had GERD.. but the choking was very very scary.
While driving I saw a red fox on the side of the road eating some dead animal. I never saw a fox that close before and had to turn around to get another look. He then proceeded to turn around and run away.
I’m so paranoid to answer my cell phone when I’m driving but I sometimes have to due to business so this hands-free phone would be extremely helpful.
This big hornet flew inside and started going crazy. I had to pull off the road real fast ans exit.
Yesterday on the way to the airport. I was driving and my daughter was telling me that there was a call and that I won something and I was trying to tell her to talk for me. It was exciting, disturbing and well, a bluetooth would have solved it all!
just this morning i went to change the volume on the radio and almost got run over my some idiot that pulled out in front of me.
i always brought my cat home with me for vaca and she usually sleeps on my lap. well she didn’t feel good, got on the floor and under my break petal… on the highway. It’s a NICE way of saying it by saying i was distracted aka scared to death!