Children and phones are main distractions facing drivers

Children and mobile phones are the biggest distractions to a driver, and the latter can be as deadly as driving while drunk, according to a study conducted by the Road Safety Authority.

The report was presented at the RSA’s Annual International Road Safety Conference, which took place at Dublin Castle yesterday.

It highlighted how busy, modern lifestyles are cited as a reason for using a mobile phone while driving, and, in particular, how drivers feel that external pressures leave them with no option but to use their phone when driving.

RSA chairman Gay Byrne told delegates: “In the past, the biggest killers on our roads were drink-driving and speeding. And, although these continue to be a significant problem, we are now faced with other killer behaviours as a result of the technology-driven world we live in.

“People may not think that using a mobile phone, or texting, or even eating and drinking behind the wheel of the car is a problem, but research tells us that the distraction caused by using a mobile phone while driving is comparable to driving drunk.

“Driver distraction plays a role in 20%-30% of all road collisions. This means that, last year, as many as 11,274 collisions could have been caused by driver distraction — and many of these may have had serious or tragic consequences.”

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar echoed Mr Byrne’s views

“We live in a plugged-in world where we are expected to be in constant contact, even in the car,” said Mr Varadkar. “But the reality is that when we are driving, our attention should only be focused on driving safely.

“We have a responsibility to ourselves, our passengers, and other road users to keep our attention on the road, so I would encourage all road users to switch off before you drive off.”

The conference was attended by more than 200 delegates and featured speakers from the US, Sweden, Italy, and Britain.

John D Lee of the University of Wisconsin, a leading authority on road safety, said driver distraction is becoming a serious issue.

“Currently it accounts for something like 15%-20% of crashes, so, it’s a major problem,” he told RTÉ radio in advance of the conference.

“The variety of things you can be doing while driving is really stunning — and potentially deadly.”

Prof Lee said the technology was seductive and drivers often find it difficult to avoid using their devices when prompted.

Advising motorists to “just switch it off”, Prof Lee acknowledged that it was “very tempting and almost unavoidable to answer a phone that rings or respond to the buzz of a text message coming in”.

He said the belief that you can do two things at once is an illusion. “Either you are going to degrade your driving performance and put yourself at risk, or the phone conversation that you’re having is going to suffer and you’re not going to be as sharp on that phone conversation.”

Prof Lee said that while hands-free phones are less problematical, they can still degrade a motorist’s driving capability.