Dangerous Call: Make That Call & Risk Going To Jail
by Felix Adebayo2005-08-18 00:00:00 | Viewed 2298 times
Make a telephone call while driving and face 3 months imprisonment or pay a fine of 5 thousand naira. Going by the feelers of a motion currently before the law makers of the country, the long hand of the law will soon caught up with motorists who are in the habits of making calls on their mobile phones while behind the wheel.
Exceptions are being granted to people making emergency calls to the Police, Firefighters and Ambulance Services. This is ok and reasonable, because of what use is your cellphone if you cannot place an emergency call when you need it just because you happened to be driving at that particular time? The question is, how do you determine bewtween who is making an emergency call and a frivolous call?
Hitherto, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have been arresting motorists who make phone calls while driving in other to curb the menace of road accidents emanating from drivers who lost control of their vehicles while making calls. But as far as I am concerned, they are on their own as there is no law yet in the country banning the use of cellphones while driving. So, anybody who has the guts can take the FRSC to court and challenge their authority for doing so.
To say that a law is needed to enforce the 'Don't Make Calls While You Drive' ban is an understatement. As the saying goes, "Where there is no law there is no sin". Despite the dangers involved with making calls while driving, a lot of people still indulge in it.
Why Do People Make Calls While Driving?
- To place an emergency call
- To receive that all-important call which means life-and-death to them.
- They have itching fingers and ears which cannot resist the ringing of a telephone.
Side-Effects Of Making Calls While Driving
- The attention of the driver is divided as a result of distraction from the phone.
- Considerable reduction of the driver's concentration on the road.
- Accidents as a result of (1) & (2) above.
What Is The Real Issue Involved?
The real issue involved here is DISTRACTION. Not that making phone calls is evil on it's own, but it becomes dangerous when one is driving because the attention of the driver making or receiving the call is now divided between the road and the person at the other end of the phone. Since the human brain cannot effectively perform multi-tasking operation as a computer will do, then definitely, distractions will occur. Apart from phone calls while driving, there are still other things that can cause distractions to the driver.
Other Sources of Distraction While Driving
- Discussion with passenger(s)
- Eating while driving
- Reading newspapers in traffic jams (can you believe that?)
- Fiddling with the car's stereo
- Children in the car calling for attention.
Summary
To sum it up, in other to reduce accidents on our roads, the lawmakers will do well to tackle the problem from the root and not just attacking only one of the symptoms. It will be more effective to look into other issues mentioned above and make laws that encompass all sources of distraction rather than focusing only on the use of cellphones while driving.
No call is worth dying for, live to make another call.
The author of this article, (picture on the left) FDA Adebayo writes from Lagos - Nigeria and runs a blog called Phonerism.com
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2006-12-29 19:40:48
"It is not a good thing really to be making call while driving, but there are some calls that are urgent which may be considered necessary. In a situation where u are held up in the traffic, and you have business appointment to meet,I believe there must be a mean of passing the message across either via telephone or any other means. I suggest people to have right accessories in the car that can allow them speak on phone without distraction. "
TOLU ODOLE from UK