Abu Dhabi: Nearly 17,500 people were fined for using their mobile phones while driving in the first seven months of this year, the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate said on Tuesday.
The directorate urged drivers to refrain from the practice as talking or texting while driving can be distracting. Some 17,467 drivers received fines for using mobile phones while driving.
Major Abdullah Al Suwaidi, director of accidents and investigations at Abu Dhabi Police, said that motorists who use their phone while driving get distracted and are courting danger as they are forced to use only one hand to operate their vehicles.
“Motorists should think twice before using their mobile phones while driving for their own safety, because their lives are more valuable and cannot be wasted over a mere phone call. Accidents cause road congestion. A road accident can take place in less than a second [when a driver is distracted],” he added.
The official also said that police will closely monitor all roads to catch violators.
Those found using their mobile devices while driving can face a fine of Dh200 in addition to four black points on their licence.
Up to 20,000 tickets were issued to offenders from January to June this year (compared to 23,473 in the first half of 2012) in Dubai for using mobile phones while driving.
Dubai’s traffic police chief has issued warned violators that police will not tolerate offenders.
Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zafein said violators of these rules face a Dh200 fine and four black points being added to their traffic record, describing such offences as “serious mistakes that often lead to disasters”.
HANDS-FREE DISTRACTION
Various studies show that talking on mobiles, even using “hands-free” devices, is as risky as drunk-driving.
A University of Utah study which used a driving simulation device in 2006 has recommended legislation to address driver distraction by outlawing cellphone use while driving.
They studied 40 volunteers who used a driving simulator four times while undistracted, using a handheld mobile phone, using a hands-free mobile phone and while intoxicated to a 0.08 per cent blood-alcohol level, the average legal level of impairment in the US.
Three participants rear-ended the simulated car in front of them. All were talking on cellphones and none was drunk.
Motorists who talked on either handheld or hands-free cell phones drove slightly more slowly, but were nine per cent slower to hit the brakes.
The study’s findings call into question driving regulations that permit hands-free phones.
