Driving to Distraction?

With the change in my day job, I now have a longer commute. Not that much longer than the old commute, only about 10 minutes more unless the traffic is backed up due to inclement weather or an accident or in my area, the ever-present ongoing road construction for three seasons throughout the year.

I like the longer commute in a way. It gives me a bit of decompression time to leave the stresses of the work day behind before I get home. It also gives me a little time to work on story lines in my head. I talk through any problems I'm having with a scene or character. Talking out loud while I'm alone in the car seems to help me sort out what needs to change to make the scene work or the character or dialogue believable.

Another nice thing about my new commute is that it's not so long that I forget those lines of dialogue or how I solved a plot, scene, or character problem. I do have a voice activated recorder app on my phone that I try to turn on when I get in the car, but I don't always remember. If I am stuck in traffic where I'm sitting still, then I will sometimes jot down a brief note or two to remind myself of whatever it is I want to make sure I don't forget.

At the same time I can't help wondering if doing any of the above is safe. What if I get so wrapped up in a scene or working out a problem, or working on dialogue that I start not paying close attention to what is happening on the road? Is it any different that people who sing along to the radio or talk back to it when they listen to talk radio stations? How about people who eat and drive? Drink coffee or soda and drive?

Anything can happen in the blink of an eye even if you're distracted for only a second. I know of someone who lost a loved one when a driver looked down to pick up his/her beverage and hit the loved one who was legally crossing the street. The driver was distracted for just those few seconds to pick up the drink and drove through a stop sign and into the crosswalk.

Do you find yourself thinking about things when you have a commute longer than fifteen minutes or so? What are you thoughts on spending the drive time working on story lines in your head?