Drinking while driving is dangerous but using your smartphone while driving is a fast-growing killer

A study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) says in no uncertain terms that those people who use a mobile phone while driving, even with hand-free aids, are four times more likely to have an accident than those who do not. This report emerged on the day when footage went viral of a Delhi resident, who was driving an SUV, running over his three-year-old nephew because he was distracted by his mobile phone. Across the country people are being killed and injured everyday because car drivers cannot get off their mobile phones in an utter desperate need to stay connected. And are you innocent yourself? Chances are that even you, dear readers, have used a mobile phone while driving. Everyone, car drivers, motorcycle drivers, auto-rickshaw drivers and even rickshaw pullers and pedestrians are on their phones while on public roads, thinking matters need to be attended to immediately than wait. Mobile phones are clearly making matters worse on Indian roads that are downright dangerous with over 150,000 fatalities reported every year.

This at a time when the government is trying to mandate additional safety features in cars and is cracking down on riders, who are not wearing helmets, or car drivers and passengers not using seatbelts. From the middle of this year, new and improved braking systems will become mandatory on motorcycles and cars. Vehicles will additionally be required to have driver and front passenger airbags as well as reversing sensors. All this in the name of safety, but Indian car and motorcycles owners readily play chicken with their lives by using their mobile phones, driving their cars with one hand or cradling phones on their necks. The death of a three-year old is shocking but is it enough to wean people away from a dangerous addiction? The traffic authorities across the country will need to crack down on mobile phone usage with punitive fines and suspensions of driving privileges. However, car makers are now installing several innovative hands-free connected systems on their models but the WHO report also argues that these are only slightly safer. Human beings, particularly the male of the species, are not really wired to multi-task and talking on the phone, even through a hands-free device, could be extremely distracting. And god forbid, if you have an argument and get into a bad mood while on a call, you will almost certainly take your frustration out on the road. The bigger question, therefore, is if a call is worth taking a risk on the move? Simply pull over if you have to.