Mobile phone use while driving raises crash risk

Dubai: Using a mobile phone while driving greatly increases the risk of having an accident, according to a research carried out in Dubai.

The 'MotoSafe' Study has demonstrated that increased danger exists when a mobile phone is hand-held rather than hands-free while driving.

The research was carried out at Emirates Driving Institute (EDI) under the supervision of the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which is a charity organisation under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth.

The research is RoSPA's first road safety research undertaken in the Gulf region and it plans to initiate more such studies over the coming months.

In the UAE, it is a punishable offence to physically hold the mobile phone to the ear to talk whilst driving and the police strongly advocate the use of hands- free devices if people need to talk while driving.

'Intense and distracting'

"Driving in the UAE is dangerous enough due to the high speed roads without the added risk of talking on the phone at the same time," said rally champion Mohammad Bin Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club for the UAE, who was among those who took part in the study.

"Seven or eight years ago, we did not have this problem because nobody expected this growth in the number of cars.

"We are here promoting for a problem which is talking on phones while driving, as it is distracting and prevents motorists from concentrating on the roads," he said.

Psychologists have established that drivers under stress are more likely to have an accident and that stress levels increase during phone conversations.

Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Dr Raymond Hamden of the Human Relations Institute at Dubai's Knowledge Village said previous research in other countries has shown that driving while using a mobile phone is at least as dangerous as drink-driving.

He said drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in accidents.

Other RoSPA studies have revealed that the majority of calls taken by drivers on a mobile are "intense, complex, business-related and distracting".