OT: Chris Berman's wife dies in car accident

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

This is in very bad taste. Two people died horrible deaths. They have loved ones that are suffering. If you don't possess sympathy, at least have enough compassion to just pass it by without a sick attempt at comedy.

Yeah, it's best to leave the standup routine at home on this one.

"Hey, Berman annoys me as a commentator. I know, let's mock his wife's death! Great idea!"

Regards,
Chris

 

[Patjew]

Looks like she went...All. The. Way. Into the pond.

You're an ass hole. An unfunny one at that.

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

When I saw the pic that was my first thought. She fell asleep at the wheel or was distracted by her electronic device.

I wish I could say I've never emailed/texted and been driving at the same time but I'd be lying. Even using voice dictation which provides text to email/txts is a distraction. It's selfish, reckless and 99.9% of the time completely unnecessary.

I would say there is a big difference between occasionally doing it and the people I see. It's as if they have an app to control the car.. Scary

 

[Gwedd]

May the Angels of His Mercy bring solace to all her family and friends, and may her memory be a blessing.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Thank God you were not seriously hurt. It is horrible how many people are on their phones while driving. Here in NH we have to be hands-free, and I guess that helps a little as you are able to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel, but I have also read stories that it doesn't help that much if you are focused on a conversation. The best thing of course, would be to ban all cell phone use while driving, but we've all become so used to doing it.

I'm somewhat skeptical about hands free phone calls being distracting. Don't drivers talk with passengers?
That said, although I never texted or emailed while driving, I notice that playing with the GPS or the radio can distract me.
It's heresy, but I'll take a slowed reaction time loser with .08 alcohol over a texting bozo who isn't even looking any time.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

A horrible story. I have no beef with him. And feel sad for everyone involved.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Looks like she went...All. The. Way. Into the pond.

Wow

 

[RobertWeathers]

I hate when I see people do that. And I hate myself even more when I do it. It's just so tempting.

It drives me insane when I see other people do it. I'm a total hypocrite.

I've gotten a lot better at it. I only check mail/txt at a stoplight. Baby steps..

 

[anditsgood]

Prayers with the Berman family

 

[NormZauchin]

Being a retired old guy, I virtually never text over a cell phone, let alone while driving. I cannot fathom the necessity of risking one's own life and the lives of others over trivial communications. (This is from someone who was an early adapter, having a cell phone back in the 1980s, when the battery pack weighed several pounds.)

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Sad.
Condolences to everyone in the family.
RIP.

Life is short and its end can be random and unpredictable, folks. We should enjoy it while we can.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

In an accident like that, the driver is either distracted or incapacitated. Not trying to start a rumor, but she may have been looking down at her phone.

How the heck can you post that? And yes, it is how rumors and fake news get started.
In an "accident like that" a lot of things can be the cause, from a sudden unexpected stop by the car in front because of an obstacle or risk that we might never know about to a stroke or heart attack to...almost anything.

 

[Thelonious]

Really awful. Berman is kind of a blowhard, but so am I, and he's never been the complete flamer all the others at ESPN have been. I hope he works his way through this.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Chris Berman was at the Giants/Mets game at Citi Field when he was notified of the crash by NYPD officers.

Wife of sportcaster Chris Berman, 1 other killed in Woodbury crash

From that article:

According to a 1993 profile of the family that appeared in the Hartford Courant, Chris Berman met the former Kathy Alexinski in 1983 by faking car trouble so he could ask her for help.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Those automated breaking systems will end up saving many people in situations like this. I get scared when traffic stops unexpectedly. Been rear ended by a driver I saw coming the whole way when that happened. She got out and yelled at me because I was stopped as were all the cars in front of me so someone 5 cars ahead could turn left into a driveway. I asked the police to cite her for phone use as I saw it but they would not.

According to the article posted earlier she was driving a 2003 Lexus SC 430 which would not have had a feature like that. Strange that a guy like Boomer's wife is driving a 14 year-old car. I'm not judging as my wife drives a 2003 Lexus as well. It's just that I don't make the kind of bank that I would expect Chris to make.

 

[Kontradiction]

How the heck can you post that? And yes, it is how rumors and fake news get started.
In an "accident like that" a lot of things can be the cause, from a sudden unexpected stop by the car in front because of an obstacle or risk that we might never know about to a stroke or heart attack to...almost anything.

Well, it's really quite simple. I construct the message and click on "post reply".

 

[patchick]

I'm somewhat skeptical about hands free phone calls being distracting. Don't drivers talk with passengers?

There's actually a ton of research supporting this. Only a small portion of the danger of talking on a cell while driving comes from holding the phone.

(Please note that I'm not saying this has anything to do with Mrs. Berman; the Berman family has my sincerest sympathies for their loss.)

When you're talking with passengers in your car, they instinctively pause at delicate traffic situations (or even point them out to the driver). It's such a natural part of the rhythm of in-car conversations that we don't even notice it.

Following a remote speaker -- let alone a conference call, etc. -- takes more of your attentional resources, and the demand on the driver's attention isn't responsive to the environment. So in those split-second moments when driving shifts from being semi-automatic to requiring active attention, cell-phone speakers are a liability.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Well, it's really quite simple. I construct the message and click on "post reply".

In this case, before you clicked and suggested that the primary responsibility might lie with Mrs. Berman, you might have done some research that showed that the car in front of her was driven by a guy in his 80's who had just visited his wife's grave and could well have experienced anything from a panic attack to a heart attack or stroke and stopped suddenly.

I think at this stage condolences and empathy are the order of the day; responsibility and accountability can come at the appropriate time and from appropriate places, not gossip spread on an internet chat site.

Let's get back to the Patriots.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

According to the article posted earlier she was driving a 2003 Lexus SC 430 which would not have had a feature like that. Strange that a guy like Boomer's wife is driving a 14 year-old car. I'm not judging as my wife drives a 2003 Lexus as well. It's just that I don't make the kind of bank that I would expect Chris to make.

Two of my two wealthiest friends (nine figure family wealth each) drive, respectively, an old Chevy Suburban that he bought used and an a 12 year old Range Rover.

 

[Clonamery]

There's actually a ton of research supporting this. Only a small portion of the danger of talking on a cell while driving comes from holding the phone.

(Please note that I'm not saying this has anything to do with Mrs. Berman; the Berman family has my sincerest sympathies for their loss.)

When you're talking with passengers in your car, they instinctively pause at delicate traffic situations (or even point them out to the driver). It's such a natural part of the rhythm of in-car conversations that we don't even notice it.

Following a remote speaker -- let alone a conference call, etc. -- takes more of your attentional resources, and the demand on the driver's attention isn't responsive to the environment. So in those split-second moments when driving shifts from being semi-automatic to requiring active attention, cell-phone speakers are a liability.

There's also all those new vehicles with apps pre-installed in them (Netflix? Really?). Or bad sports radio. Or bad music. Or eating fast food. Or putting on make up. Or the lady that reads the newspaper while driving on Glen Cove Rd. WTF lady?

That doesn't even take in any severe weather that may be occurring to increase the danger these distractions may incur.

Is it any wonder that State Farm lost $7 Billion on their Auto book in 2016.

People can barely manage their lives before getting in a vehicle....driverless cars can't get here fast enough, though they will have their own issues to bear on humans.