Mobile phones can steer drivers away from safety

Abu Dhabi: A woman motorist who could not stop talking on her cell phone while driving was hospitalised when her car flipped over twice after she was hit changing lanes without checking.

But that still did not stop her from talking on the phone and she had a second accident two years later while on the Airport Road in Sharjah. "I had parked on the side to talk," she said, remembering her accident.

"I did not see the pick-up coming very fast when I joined the traffic," she said.

Police found her phone on the road and called her workplace. "The last thing I remember before blacking out was someone saying, 'My God, she is dead'," she said. "The insurance company refused to pay for the damages," she said.

"My third accident was not that serious," said the woman, who did not wish to be identified. "I was texting someone and did not see the car in front and hit it lightly," she said.

"We are very strict about this," said the Ajman police chief, on implementing the no-mobile rule. "Do you know that there is a £5,000 [about Dh36,910] fine if you are caught driving while talking on a cell in the UK."

Samer Mohammad Razouk, a Syrian employed at the National Consultative Council of Abu Dhabi, says he ignores calls on his mobile while driving, unless it is urgent.

"When I talk I do not use a hands-free. I find them inconvenient," he said. "I think all cars should have built in hand-free devices, like the luxury cars." Ras Al Khaimah traffic police officers said reckless drivers will spend two weeks behind bars, the vehicle is seized for six months and the driver fined Dh3,000.

Campaign

They said reckless driving is usually attributed to the use of mobile phones.

Dubai recently launched a campaign against the use of mobile phones.

The Dubai Police chief said it was unlikely that people would respond positively to the campaign at first. "But we will try to send a strong message to the motorists about the dangers of talking on the mobile while driving," said Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, earlier.

Some motorists have been fined Dh150 for speaking on the phone in Dubai and their licence is confiscated.

Mustafa Al Nabi, an Egyptian marketing manager with a TV channel at Dubai Media City, said hands-free devices are ideal, but expensive, adding that the present rules are very 'lenient'.