Drivers Take Traffic Jams To Task

It’s 8:30 a.m.

The San Diego Freeway is jammed solid, the Ventura Freeway a vast tableau of idling cars.

Time to floss!

Or shave, read mail or apply some underarm deodorant, said motorists who took part in a survey released Thursday that details all the things drivers do when stuck in traffic.

The nationwide, informal survey of 15,000 drivers found that Americans are reclaiming time lost to their commutes by multitasking on the road - converting their cars into mobile offices, boudoirs and reading rooms.

The results surprised few in the city that invented the SigAlert.

‘I don’t think you have much choice,” said attorney Barbara Minkoff of Westlake Village, who admits to the occasional car-phone call. “That’s the life you choose when you live in Los Angeles.”

Ramon Munoz, an 18-year-old receptionist, said he sometimes finishes dressing in the car if time is tight.

“I’ll take off my shirt, put on a work shirt if I’m late,” he said. “I haven’t gotten into a crash yet.”

Munoz isn’t alone in dressing on the go. More than one-fourth of the drivers surveyed changed clothes behind the wheel, according to the report, produced by the Pennzoil motor oil company. Forty-two percent read either mail or a book.

Forty-six percent of the women answering the survey applied makeup in the car. So did 4 percent of men.

More than 9 percent of respondents plucked nose hairs while idling.

Among the survey’s more surprising findings: Californians actually do less multi-tasking on the road than the national average. Those in Southern states do more.

The survey found that those ages 16 to 35 are more likely than members of other generations to get dressed or style their hair in traffic. In general, older people seemed far less willing to divide their attention while driving.

California Highway Patrol Officer Frank Sandoval said that while the labor-intensive activities listed in the survey aren’t illegal, they also aren’t a good idea.

“Driving is something that needs all of your attention,” he said. “If your mind’s not focused, you’re not going to be able to stop if something happens.”