Distracted driving a bad idea

Use technologies to stop distractions, driving experts say.

Up to 30 per cent of vehicle crashes worldwide are likely to be linked to some form of distracted driving. Pawan Singh / The National

ABU DHABI // As more motorists use technology while driving, publicity campaigns, designing a more forgiving road network and an effective enforcement of traffic laws are critical to road safety, experts said on Thursday.

"We should be guided by the three Es of road safety: education, engineering and enforcement," said Dr Abdulrahman Al Janahi, director of the centre for transport and road studies at the University of Bahrain.

“Abu Dhabi’s road network, the entire UAE and the GCC, is the best in the world, but we need to build roads that are self-explaining and forgiving of mistakes to reduce the risk of crashes,” he said on the sidelines of the International Symposium on Communication Technologies and Road Safety.

The conference examined the use of technologies while driving and its impact on traffic safety, by preventing driver distraction and reducing the risk of road accidents.

Every country, experts said, had to improve methods in educating road users, building safer roads, controlling unsafe behaviour on the road and improving ambulance and emergency systems, including vehicle accident automatic alert system.

Proposals included setting up regional centres to gather traffic safety data; strengthening traffic awareness campaigns; making traffic data available to develop strategies and solutions; and forming national committees or councils involved in road safety and traffic issues.

“We recognise that humans make mistakes. It is a well-known fact that 90 per cent of road accidents are caused by human error,” Dr Al Janahi said. Governments should also consider technology-based enforcement to effectively influence and change poor driver behaviour.

“Alerts on traffic violations should reach drivers via SMS as soon as they commit the offence,” Dr Al Janahi said.

Andry Rakotonirainy, a technology professor at the Centre for Accident and Road Safety at Queensland University, said road safety required a multiple approach involving car manufacturers, police and the government.

“The driver has to be aware of risks associated with driving or using the technology itself.”

Drivers also needed to be aware of risks they pose to themselves and other road users.

It is estimated that about 20 to 30 per cent of car accidents are expected to be linked to some form of driver distraction, said Prof Tom Brijs of the University of Hasselt in Belgium. "Young novice drivers are more susceptible to driver distraction because their working memory capacity is still growing up to the age of 25," he said. "We should make use of technologies to prevent distraction, and education to raise awareness.

“No matter what you’re doing, distracted driving is a bad idea.”