Using phone while driving as high as drink driving

The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) highlighted findings of some traffic studies that reactions of drivers busy with calls through mobile phones while driving equal to 80 per cent of reactions of driving under the influence of alcohol.

RTA also called upon all community members to recognise the potential risks that motorists using mobile phones during driving are liable to, and cautions against ignoring calls and recommendations made by traffic research centers calling for avoiding driving distractors and advocating focused driving.

Husain Al Banna, Director of Traffic, RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, said: “The rising number of international studies cautioning against the risks of using mobile phones during drive prompts us to muster support towards educating the public and road users about the potential driving hazards. The Traffic Department is guided by the approved traffic safety strategy of the RTA based on a host of key aspects including running a number of well-prepared and systematic traffic awareness campaigns and programmes to sensitize community members about the current traffic issues, and raise the traffic safety levels in Dubai.

 “We take awareness efforts quite seriously and endeavour to be more professional in doing so, considering it part and parcel of the concerns of the Traffic Department towards the community. Acquainting the public with the risks and causes of traffic accidents will contribute to reducing the number of victims, percentage of fatalities and traffic casualties. Using the mobile phone during driving has become as a pressing issue that triggered the worry of those concerned with the traffic safety not only in Dubai but across the UAE and the world over. A recent study commissioned by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that 80 per cent of crashes relate to drivers who lost concentration in the last two or three seconds before the crash,” revealed the Director of Traffic at the RTA.

“Making a telephone call that takes five seconds translates into a covering a distance of 130 meters by a vehicle travelling at a speed of 95 km/h, and drivers who experience traffic accidents while busy with mobile phone can’t recollect how such accidents took place. They can’t figure out what has actually happened or how the accident occurred as they were busy with the phone and therefore couldn’t avoid or weren’t attentive to the underlying cause. Some studies indicate that those using mobile phone during driving experience a 50 per cent drop in their ability to react compared to those not using it, and the potential of involvement in a crash multiplies five times when the drive starts making a call via the mobile phone even if using hands free devices. Studies also found out that the reaction of the driver engaged in telephone conversation during driving is equal to 80 per cent of the reaction of a driver under the influence of alcohol,” he explained.

“All global traffic safety studies emphasize that using the mobile phone during driving distracts the attention of the driver and doubles the chances of a crash as it knocks off the functioning of a large part of vital functions needed for safe driving. It distracts the mental focus from driving to thinking in the content of the text message or websites surfed. Using the mobile phone during driving might disable one or both hands from holding the steering wheel, and glimpsing the mobile phone takes the driver’s sight off the road. One of these causes is sufficient to make the driver prone to a traffic accident risk, and this risk multiplies whenever more factors are involved.

“Japan, Singapore and Portugal are among countries imposing blanket prohibition of the use of mobile phones during driving, even if with the assistance of technological gadgets. Other countries, such as Britain, Australia, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland allow the use of the mobile phone during driving, provided through wireless headsets or accessories fitted to vehicles, as is the case here in the UAE,” concluded the Director of Traffic at RTA.

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