ON AUG. 1, my colleague and column-space mate, David Allen, expressed a concern in his column that I might reprimand reader Derek Deason, who had sent him a photograph of a hysterically confusing freeway sign that appears to have been taken while Mr. Deason was driving.

While Mr. Deason undoubtedly had only the best intentions, driving while having a Kodak Moment can only be regarded as a contender for special recognition among those who drive dangerously distracted.

Here are my personal top five picks for the Distracted Drivers Hall of Shame:

5. From a survey conducted by the American Iron and Steel Institute on distracted driving: a U.S. doctor was seen examining X-rays while driving.

4. Our own local behind-the-wheel shutterbug, Mr. Derek Deason, unless he had a passenger snap that pic, in which case he is completely absolved and needs to address any letters of outrage to: d_allen@dailybulletin.com.

The top three unbelievable acts while driving were submitted by readers of the Ezine AOL Money and Finance:

3. "Driving down the 495 Interstate in (Maryland), I once caught a gentleman playing his saxophone while cruising at 55 mph in his Suzuki Samurai - lucky it didn't flip!" RajibAmin

2. "I was driving behind a woman who kept looking down in her lap and her arms were moving in a flapping motion. I couldn't imagine WHAT she could be doing! When she stopped at a light I had to honk to get her moving again.

Finally I got along side of her and looked in her car. She was KNITTING!" ArtRen00

1. "A guy actually had an easel set up in the passenger seat with paints and several brushes and was painting a picture while we were going 70 mph down a major highway." Safe69

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that nearly 80 percent of collisions and 65 percent of near-crashes involved a driver who had their mind on something other than the road within three seconds of the event.

According to the NHTSA, "Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by nine times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by three times; applying makeup by three times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost three times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times."

The message is crystal clear: Pay attention while you are driving - or pay the price.

Car-pooling can be boon for your wallet, a blessing for the environment, and it can be a really big test of your ability to interact positively with others in unusually close quarters. Do you have an interesting or funny car-pooling story? Send it to my e-mail address and you might see your adventure in print.

Michelle Groh-Gordy is the owner of InterActive! Traffic School Online at www.trafficinteractive.com , and writes a syndicated weekly column on driving for the publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.