Research phone use in traffic: can we resist the temptation?
You probably don’t, calling while driving. If you inquire, you get the impression that we can do without our smartphone for a while. And especially when we get into the car from the bike. Yet the numbers show otherwise. The Amsterdam transport region has investigated the state of telephone use in traffic. You can read the most important results, tips and the most far-reaching excuses for keeping your phone close at hand here.
Road safety is high on our agenda. With traffic education, its layout of streets, the approach of dangerous intersections and more, we make the city safer. The study of the Amsterdam transport region is a valuable addition to this and provides tips that we would like to draw attention to.
Half a football field
According to SWOV, distraction in traffic leads to more than 100 fatal accidents per year in the Netherlands. 1 look at your phone in the car and you drive over half a football field at 50 kilometers per hour without looking! The influence of the smartphone in traffic is therefore large.
Thinking and doing
The survey shows that the majority of people say they don’t look at their smartphones while driving. More than a quarter indicate that they have been fined for using the telephone while driving. And on a bicycle that is almost 1 in 10. So something is not right there. We think one thing, but do another. to prevent slightly more than 1 in 10 inhabitants.
A few numbers
The extent to which residents from the region are aware of the dangers of smartphone use in traffic was investigated. Nearly 9 in 10 inhabitants (87 percent) consider the use of a mobile phone (very) dangerous while driving. 77 percent find this (very) dangerous on a bicycle. The majority of drivers indicate that they (almost) never use their smartphone in traffic (69 percent while driving a car, scooter, moped/moped or motorcycle, 75 percent while riding a bicycle or electric bicycle). So we know very well that it’s dangerous to be distracted, but we don’t act like it yet.
Phone on do not disturb
The solution is actually very simple. To resist the temptation of your phone, you can turn on the do not disturb feature or app on your phone. Then your phone will not notify you when apps, e-mails or text messages arrive. Whether we have done this has also been investigated. Result: 64 percent of the functions know the do not disturb, but do not use it. Only slightly more than 1 in 10 people (13 percent) turn on the function in traffic. And why didn’t we do this? Description of the top 5 excuses:
- I have the discipline not to look.
- I want to remain accessible.
- I forget to turn it on.
- I have a good hands-free function in the car.
- I don’t use my phone when I’m on the road anyway.
Tips
Finally, the top 5 tips to get on the road undisturbed (MONO):
- Preset your navigation and music. This way you have your hands free while driving.
- Use the do not disturb function of the app. Do you want to be reachable for people, such as your partner with children, or in emergencies? Put them in the exceptions of the do not disturb function.
- Let people who still want to reach you (such as your employer) know that you will be driving.
- Put your phone where you can’t reach it.
- Can’t wait for a phone call? Then stop in a safe place to make the call.
Knowing more
- Apps you can try include anwb.nl†
- More about the research: the fact sheet
Photo: Koos Busters / National Image Bank