Number of drivers distracted by phone increasing
According to a survey commissioned by the Road Administration, 71 percent of Estonian drivers use their phones while driving, on average causing two accidents a day.
Drivers who got caught by the police using their phones while driving yesterday had the chance to join an instructional seminar instead of having to pay a fine, ETV’s “Aktuaalne Kaamera” newscast reported. The no-phone day campaign tried to turn drivers’ attention to the fact that using their mobile phones while driving drastically increases the danger of accidents occurring.
Despite significantly higher risk both to drivers and other people in traffic, using mobile phones while driving is a growing trend in Estonia. Drivers read e-mails, check their social media accounts, and send off messages while driving.
Still, the most common distraction remains picking up the phone. Despite the fact that plenty of state-of-the-art vehicles are equipped with hands-free Bluetooth systems, only relatively few drivers use them, and the numbers are going down rather than up.
According to the survey, 45 percent of drivers never use a hands-free set. Drivers distracted by their mobile phones on average cause two accidents in Estonia every day.
Editor: Dario Cavegn