THE cellular phone has opened up a lot of possibilities for person-to-person contact, among other conveniences.
But when it comes to road safety, the gadget could be considered a hazard, especially after the introduction of Short Message Service (SMS).
Ever since the advent of SMS, society has become more aware of the dangers of texting while driving although the habit is still quite rampant among a large section of the motoring public who, for some strange reason, still do it despite knowing the perils involved.
Text messages are brief — often limited to about 160 characters and can be easily sent from one cell phone to another.
The service, embraced by millions worldwide, is so convenient that people can text anytime, any place and anywhere — even while walking, eating and driving.
The cell phone is ubiquitous, simple to operate and transmits messages in a jiffy. For this reason, it has become a powerful campaigning tool during an election. But that’s another story.
In recent years, the growing number of ‘texting-while-driving’ accidents has alerted the road safety authorities to the inherent dangers posed. One thing often overlooked is that driving requires full concentration, and using the handphone behind the wheel can lead to a lapse in concentration and cause unnecessary road tragedies.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 16 per cent of all fatal crashes in 2008 resulted from driver distractions, including, not surprisingly, reading, composing and texting while driving.
The many studies made on this wayward habit share a common conclusion — texting while driving impairs a driver’s ability to concentrate. What happens, according to research, is that when reading or sending out a text message, the driver takes his eyes off the road for around five seconds.
This is more than adequate time for a person to run in front of a car or for the vehicle in front of the person to make a sudden stop, hence increasing the likelihood of averting a potentially nasty accident.
When a driver is texting, his mind would be on the message he is reading or composing. This prevents the driver from thinking quickly as his reflexes are compromised since he is thinking of something else.
The high risks of texting while driving should be reason enough to kick the habit. One option is putting the cell phone on silent mode while driving, especially if one is not expecting anything very urgent.
This way, one is not tempted to check and read any messages that come in. It’s always better to wait until one arrives at one’s destination before reading or sending any text messages.
Another option is to stop driving if one absolutely must use the cell phone. It’s also good road courtesy to make sure one stops at a place that will not obstruct traffic.
Every year, thousands of people die in tragic car accidents. Among the causes are answering cell phone calls (headsets won’t help much since it is the conversation that distracts the driver), and, of course, texting while driving that takes away the use of one hand and requires the driver to occasionally glance at his or her cell phone, leading to distraction often with disastrous consequences.
A reminder of this point recently came from Datuk Michelle Yeoh, the global road safety ambassador from Malaysia.
Yeoh, an international film celebrity in her own right, said texting while driving is distracting because the driver had to look down at the text — and in a moving car at that!
“All it takes is a split second for an accident to happen. Texting is a definite no,” she said at the launch of the “Driving is a No Phone Zone” campaign in Kuala Lumpur.
“Many lives can be lost if we do not take preventive measures. We are all road users and responsible for our lives and the lives of our loved ones while on the road.
“Everyone has the right to use the road safely,” said Yeoh who leads the UN road safety campaign.
There is now no national law that bans texting or using cellular phone while driving.
It’s perhaps time to consider enacting legislations to curb texting while driving not only to reduce accidents on our roads but also redeem our tarnished reputation as a nation with the highest road deaths in the world.