Drivers should be aware of distracted youth after school

Dubai-based Emirates Driving Institute warns motorists to drive with caution as the risk of an accident is greater as the school run brings with it a 20 per cent growth in rush hour traffic

Using phones and playing with friends is putting children’s lives at risk outside schools. Sarah Dea / The National

Drivers should take care during their daily commute as children distracted by their mobile phones make their way home from school.

“Technology has moved on at such a pace, it is clear that youngsters are being distracted by the myriad of portable entertainment devices available to them,” said Robert Hodges, chief operating officer at Emirates Driving Institute (EDI) in Dubai.

“When children are using the roads and sidewalks as pedestrians, motorists should assume that children have their minds elsewhere, and are certainly not thinking actively about traffic dangers.”

The risk of an accident becomes significantly greater in the mornings and evenings, with school runs bringing 20 per cent growth in rush-hour traffic.

Officials at EDI have warned motorists of a greater risk on the way home from school, where children who do not take the school bus are more likely to be distracted by playing with their friends, listening to music or interacting with their phones.

Existing research from the UK Department for Transport’s THINK! initiative has shown that 62 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds admit to being distracted by talking to friends as they cross the road.

A similar number had to stop friends from having an accident by either pulling them back or calling out, and 36 per cent of girls and 25 per cent of boys said they get distracted when using their mobile phones.

Drivers were urged to be more vigilant in rural or remote areas.