2007 Darwin Awards

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

The Laptop Still Works! 2007 Darwin Award RUNNER UP Confirmed True by Darwin The blue screen of death. (26 February 2007, California) "Driving is not a time to be practicing your multitasking skills," remarked CHP spokesman Tom Marshall. Oscar, 29, had been driving on Highway 99 near Yuba City when his Honda Accord crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Hummer. California Highway Patrol officers found Oscar's laptop still running, and plugged into the car's cigarette lighter. Oscar is not alone. Last year, 510 California drivers were charged with reckless driving while using a TV, video, or computer monitor. A 2001 CHP study cites cellphone use as the top cause of crashes involving distracted drivers, followed by fiddling with music. "Anything that distracts you can kill you, whether it's eating lunch or working on a computer," an AAA spokesman said. Oscar was a computer tutor. Hopefully his fatal lesson will teach others to surf on the information superhighway, not the asphalt superhighway. MEDIA REFERENCESs: (1), (2) and 9 others. Reader Comments: "Traffic so heavy...must...keep...typing" "And they worry about cell phones." "(lack of) control, alt, delete..." Darwin says, "It is against the rules to receive a Darwin Award if you injure innocent people. I thought this event might qualify anyway, because the driver was such an idiot, and the occupants of the Hummer were not seriously injured. Was I wrong? If the vote score stays low, I will remove this story from the archive." Share DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2012 Submitted by: John Scrivens, Frank Rowan, Jim Stewart, Alex K Reference: Contra Costa Times, UPI, Associated Press, KGO 810AM

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