‘MOBILE PHONE-USE DRIVING’; A GROWING PHENOMENON CONTRIBUTING TO ROAD CRASH
Driver distraction such as tuning in to a radio, mobile phone usage is an important risk factor for road traffic injuries. However, the latter is at the ascendency in developing countries, a trend which is also contributing immensely to road crash.
Growth in mobile phone subscriptions is fastest in low- and middle-income countries where there are now twice as many mobile phone subscriptions as in high-income countries, reflecting the relative size of these markets.
Information from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that between 2008 and 2009 the use of mobile phones in developing countries exceeded 50% of the global population, reaching an estimated 57 per 100 inhabitants, while in high income countries use has largely exceeded 100% (i.e. there is more than one mobile phone subscription for every inhabitant).
Mobile phone use is greatest among the young, especially the 15–24 age group, while data suggest that those in the younger age group are also driving the demand for text messaging services. Road traffic injuries affect all age groups, but their impact is particularly striking among the young – they are the leading cause of death worldwide among those aged 15–29 years.
The Global Burden of Disease and Injury study reveals that injuries caused about 11% of all health loss worldwide in 2010. Road traffic accidents lead the component of the figure, causing almost 1.3 million deaths in 2010, about 50% more than two decades earlier.
The WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2030. Currently, Ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of death, while Road traffic injuries occupy the ninth position, according to the WHO report.
Ghana has already passed a new law banning the use of mobile phones while driving in July 2012. The new rules include sending of text messages, using hands-free devices and the operation of television monitors on the dashboard of vehicles when driving.
According to the new Road Traffic Regulations act passed, drivers caught breaking the law will be arrested and fined.
Using mobile phones can cause drivers to take their eyes off the road (visual distraction), minds off the road (cognitive distraction), and hands off the steering wheel (physical distraction) thereby causing road crash.
Statistics from Ghana's National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) indicates that the total number of persons killed through road crash in 2011 is 2,330, representing 32% increase in the 2010 figure of 1,760.
However, the enforcement of the law remains a problem in the country. Each day on the country's highways and roads, majority of drivers are seen speaking on hand held phones while driving. This act contributes to lack of concentration and observing important road traffic signs, thereby resulting in road crash.
The Communication Manager of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) Ghana, Mr Kwame Atuahene Konduah in an interview says the enforcement of the law is a collective effort involving all stakeholders in the transport sector such as drivers, transport unions, the NRSC, the security agencies, the general public as well as government.
Key to the success of legislative measures is the ability to maintain and sustain high levels of enforcement, and the ability to maintain a high perception of enforcement among the general public. For compliance with laws to be achieved, levels of enforcement must be high and maintained over time, thereby increasing the perceived risk of being caught, while penalties for transgression should be stipulated and publicized so that they act as a deterrent.
In such a way, legislation can also become an important tool for shaping behaviour and fostering a culture of road safety that results in sustained reductions in road traffic injuries – or at least prevent the level of safety from degrading in the future.
However, he said the commission is continuously doing all it can to educate drivers and the general public on the law and the need to avoid driving using mobile phones.
Mr Konduah says it is time for the general public to obey traffic regulations as it seeks to minimise the occurrence of road crash and subsequently save the lives of Ghanaians.
The willingness of some citizens to disobey the law has made the work of police officers extremely difficult in detecting drivers who drive and use mobile phones at the same time. This is intentionally done to the extent that before reaching a police officer, drivers decide to end the call from a distance which is very difficult for the police officer to detect the driver using a mobile phone while driving.
Even though the NRSC has introduced some speed cameras on some of the highways in Ghana to control over speeding of drivers, the same cameras cannot perform the role of detecting mobile phone usage.
Using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is also illegal in South Africa. To assess the magnitude of the problem, the Automobile Association of South Africa undertook an observational study in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. A total of 2, 497 drivers were observed during a one-hour study at a busy intersection during peak time. During the survey, 196 drivers (7.8%) were seen holding a mobile phone – either talking or texting.
It is therefore also critical for the NRSC to undertake periodic research to assess whether the law is really functioning effectively or otherwise, which will go a long way to address the issue holistically.
Trends from the WHO suggest that between now and 2030, road traffic injuries will rise from being the ninth leading cause of death globally to become the fifth. This rise is particularly driven by the dramatic increase in motorization in a number of low- and middle-income countries – an increase that now demands improved road safety strategies and land-use planning.
A road safety advocate, Mrs Paulina Agyekum-Boamah of Ablin Consult Engineers and Planners Limited says effective education and awareness creation on the law (being new) is needed to ensure the general public understands that the law is meant to safeguard their own safety.
She says the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service is doing a bit enforcement of the law by stopping drivers seen using mobile phones but sometimes ignore such drivers as well.
“However, people are allowed to use the ear piece, which is even more dangerous because the driver is more liable to injuries when using the ear piece than even using the hand held phone during road crash'', Mrs Agyekum-Boamah said.