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Get off the phone
Eugene Herbert, managing director of
MasteDrive, gives us some facts from
the UK around the dangers of using (or
should that be abusing) a cell phone while
driving. He wonders what the true extent
of the problem is in South Africa where
the consequences of being caught (a
bribe or fine at worst) are nowhere near
those of the UK: 378 accidents specifically
involving mobile phone use were reported
in 2012 — more than any year on record.
Those accidents resulted in 548 casualties,
including 17 deaths. Motoring experts say
that this figure gives a false impression
of the true scale of the problem, as many
cases involving phones are classed instead
as an “in-vehicle distraction”. In-vehicle
distractions led to 9,012 accidents and
196 deaths between 2010 and 2012.
When these figures are combined the
total number of deaths is 213, only 27
less than are caused by drink driving.
And with the current steep decline of drink
drive deaths, mobile phone distraction is
expected to become the biggest cause of
death on the roads by 2015. Simon Marsh,
managing director of incident video camera
firm SmartWitness, said: “The problem is
far more widespread than Department of
Transport believes and driver distraction due
to mobiles will soon be the biggest single
cause of death on the roads. “We believe a
large number of serious and fatal accidents
are wrongly classed as in-vehicle distraction
when the specific cause of the accident
was down to mobile phone use.” He added:
“The only real deterrent is a one-year ban
from driving for anyone caught texting at the
wheel. It’s clear that the current legislation
isn’t working and an increase to six points
for mobile offenders will not be enough to
stop the death toll. Lives are being ruined
just for the reason that someone wants to
send a text message whilst driving. The
only message that should be sent is from
government to motorists that this is not
acceptable.” The number of offenders
using a mobile when driving has shot up
and recent research showed the number
of motorists driving whilst on a mobile
has more than doubled since 2009 from
1.2% to 2.6% in 2012. In 2012 583,686
drivers were fined £60 and received three
points on their licence, more than ten
times higher than the 55,300 convictions
for drink driving at that time, and the age
group of 18-25 that is most likely to use
mobile phones whilst driving has seen the
biggest rise in traffic deaths. In the USA
several logistics firms are now installing
SmartWitness cameras, with a second
camera in the cab to make sure that drivers
are not using mobile phones whilst driving.
Marsh said: “The vast majority of people
who use a phone when driving think it’s
highly unlikely that they will get caught.
Herbert also gives some insight into ROAD RAGE!!!!
Road rage is something that affects all
drivers. At best, an incident can cast a
black cloud on your day and negatively
alter your mood; at worst, it can result in
a verbal or physical confrontation, injury
or something even more serious. We may
hear reports of the most serious cases in
the news and see videos of them online,
but there are disagreements between
frustrated, angry and impatient motorists
on a daily basis – making gestures,
shouting and sounding horns. In a recent
survey conducted by black box insurer
Ingenie, 70 per cent of respondents said
they’d been a victim of road rage in the
past 12 months.
And although 65 per cent of those
surveyed didn’t consider themselves to
be a ‘road rager’, 85 per cent admitted to
showing signs of road rage on occasion.
So what causes road rage? Can it be
prevented and ‘coached’ out of drivers?
Is there a specific type of road user more
susceptible to experiencing it? Dr Lisa
Dorn has devoted her career to researching
and understanding such situations. A
Reader in Driver Behaviour at Cranfield
University in Bedford, she has managed
research programmes on driver risk
assessments, run courses at Cranfield on
driver behaviour, and is co-editor of the
book series ‘Human Factors in Road and
Rail Safety’. “When I started in this field,
there were 6,000-7,000 deaths a year on
UK roads,” says the psychologist. “Now
that figure’s edging towards 1,700, which is
still too high, but it’s improved significantly.
Cars with impressive and developing
technology, and well-engineered roads,
mean that it’s safer to drive these days,
of course. But I believe the way in which
you need to continue to improve road
safety is by educating drivers.” So what
is it that drives motorists to act in such
a way? Well, people take risks that
have nothing to do with their skills or
knowledge; they take them because of
their emotional condition, the situation
they are in. The re are, obviously, parallels
with individual personality and driver
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behaviour. Changing that behaviour is
the big challenge, according to Dorn.
“The first thing to point out is that there
is no silver bullet here; personalities don’t
change overnight,” she insists. “There’s
a psychology tradition to behavioural
change and dealing with different
personalities, and a methodology which
is fairly well researched. You apply that to
the driving concept.”
Why do some people get so enraged
by another motorist’s behaviour on
the road? “It’s like looking through a
distorted lens, and the person in front of
that distorted lens becomes someone
who is trying to stop them from achieving
their goal,” explains Lisa. “And some
people really take it personally. So, the
next time you get in your car, give due
consideration to your own attention and
performance on the road. Ensure your
driving is as safe as it can be, and don’t
let your frustrations get the better of you.
After all, staying calm is the best way of
staying safe”.
september 2014