Male drivers three times more likely to use mobiles when driving, police study reveals

Two thirds of drivers surveyed were reading texts while driving and two in five were found to be composing them.

Yasalam, in October 2012, had a campaign in Abu Dhabi to remind students of how they should behave when driving. Lee Hoagland / The National

ABU DHABI // Men are three times more likely than women to use mobile phones while driving, a survey suggests.

Two thirds of drivers read text messages at the wheel and two in five wrote them, and a third of drivers surveyed had been in an accident because of using a mobile phone.

The police study aimed to highlight the risks of using a mobile phone, hand-held or hands-free, while driving.

“International studies have shown that using a mobile phone while driving is equivalent to drink driving,” said Dr Atef Garib, a roads and traffic expert at Abu Dhabi Police. The level of impairment was the same, he said.

Other studies show that talking on a mobile phone at the wheel puts a driver at a four times greater risk of having an accident, said Lt Col Jamal Al Ameri, chief spokesman for the capital’s traffic police.

Using a hand-held phone while driving is illegal, but the law does not apply to hands-free phones.

Mobile phone use while driving persists despite repeated police warnings about the increased risk of crashes, Lt Col Al Ameri said: last year 30,085 offenders were fined Dh200 and had four black points on their licence.

Using a hand-held phone behind the wheel can lead to a number of driver errors, said Lt Col Al Ameri, who is also editor-in-chief of Saeed magazine, published by the Saaed Association, which promotes road safety and traffic awareness in the community.

“Drivers would generally react more slowly to road incidents, would not leave a safe distance from the vehicle in front, have difficulty keeping the vehicle in one lane and sometimes jump a red light,” he said.

Even using a mobile phone with a hands-free headset while driving can be a distraction, Lt Col Al Ameri said.

He urged drivers to stop at a place where it was legal and safe to do so, or postponed the call or text until they reach their destination.

Sabri Hassan, 57, a banker in Al Ain and officially one of the country’s safest drivers, avoids his phone when he is at the wheel.

“Using a hand-held phone while driving is very dangerous,” he said. “Nowadays we have the bluetooth but I usually avoid using the phone unless it is urgent.”

He and his wife Ibtisam, 49, daughter Sara, 26 and son, Mustafa, 19, were honoured by Abu Dhabi police as the Best Family at Traffic Safety for their clean driving record.

“I prefer not to use the headset,” said Sara, a school administrator. “If the call is extremely important, I usually pull over.”

“Our life is worth much more than a phone call,” Mustafa said.