This gives an idea of how bad in car phone usage is.

[Geebee]

"Blackberry blackout puts crashes on hold
18 December 2014. If ever evidence was needed of the dangerous mix of drivers and mobile phones, the United Arab Emirates proved it recently when car crashes dropped 40 per cent during a phone outage.

The Blackberry still holds 44 per cent of the smartphone market in still hold 44 percent of the market in Abu Dhabi, so when the system went down for three days—removing access to email, text messages and internet—there was a major impact.

However the big shock was the drop in car crashes during the black out—a 20 percent fall in in Dubai and 40 percent drop nationwide.

This is effectively a very large scale experiment that establishes the true dimensions of the distracted driver problem.

“The accidents that occur from the use of these devices range between minor and moderate ones, but at times they are deadly,” Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim said.

The UAE has the eighth highest crash rate in the world, with a crash every three minutes and a fatality every two days. The Abu Dhabi Traffic Department has said that 14 percent of accidents are caused by drivers using smart phones.

A popular international soccer star, Theyab Amana, died this year when he crashed into the back of a road-marking truck, reportedly while using a BlackBerry.

Police say that more than 36,000 fines have been handed out in the emirate this year to drivers using their smartphones."

From https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/general/better-conditions/2560/

 

[flecc]

As ever, there's more to this than meets the eye. If people are out of touch and unable to contact, there will be less meetings arranged and therefore a corresponding drop in traffic on the roads. This is particularly true of a country where many of it's citizens hardly ever work and spend so much time in social interaction.

And as highlighted, the UAE crash rate is extremely high and that is not solely due to mobile phones since their very high accident rate has existed for many years and predates today's mobile phones.

I'm quite sure a similar three day comms outage here in the UK would not produce a big change in accident rates. It wouldn't surprise me if there were no difference.

I'm certainly not condoning mobile in-car usage, indeed I'm against even hands-free kits since a driver should be concentrating on the road and not a conversation. However, the number of accidents actually caused by it is as miniscule as our UK accident rate, which is extraordinarily low considering our vehicle density and mileages.
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[Gubbins]

My car has it built in and it's voice activated so nothing to do but talk, but it is so distracting I have disabled it... If I need to use my phone I find somewhere to stop.

 

[Gubbins]

To add a bit more to this... Is using a phone "hands free" whilst driving any different to... Changing a cd or radio channel, arguing with the wife, shouting at the kids in the back, lighting a cigarette or looking for the hot bit when you drop it, being given nonsensical directions and unwanted advice from a back seat driver, and I am sure many more......In my earlier life I have done all of these things and more to some degree thankfully without incident. I think my worst offence would be to light a cigarette with matches using both hands and steering with my knees! I hasten to add that I gave up smoking 40 years ago.....

 

[Alan Quay]

I drive a lot whilst working. In order to be more productive I use the built in hands free in my car, mostly while travelling along A30/A38 in Devon/Cornwall. I have been doing this for 10 years or so and I honestly can't say I have had one incident that could be linked to this behaviour.

While I accept that any distraction while driving is a bad thing, the question is really down to the level of experience of the individual driver, and the circumstances.

A young driver, lost in a strange city, and with a car fill of children almost certainly should not be on the phone. A 40 year old fat bloke, with half a million miles under his belt, doing 60 on an empty dual carriageway?

 

[Gubbins]

I drive a lot whilst working. In order to be more productive I use the built in hands free in my car, mostly while travelling along A30/A38 in Devon/Cornwall. I have been doing this for 10 years or so and I honestly can't say I have had one incident that could be linked to this behaviour.

While I accept that any distraction while driving is a bad thing, the question is really down to the level of experience of the individual driver, and the circumstances.

A young driver, lost in a strange city, and with a car fill of children almost certainly should not be on the phone. A 40 year old fat bloke, with half a million miles under his belt, doing 60 on an empty dual carriageway?

I think my son would say and does exactly the same thing saying that if he didnt his job would not get done, and as a passenger with him whist he is doing it, I still feel safe but I do notice changes in his driving, and with all due respect and not intending offence, your comment reminds me of an advert that was on tv probably before your time which showed a couple in a sports car on a country lane saying something like an experienced driver can keep his speed up in all conditions.. Cant remember exactly but he ended up in the ditch.. I think its difficult to self judge your own driving skills, and as an ex boy-racer I can say I never caused an accident, but I do look back with some embarrassment and wonder how I managed it... If there were phones in my day, I would be yapping away all the time...

 

[flecc]

To add a bit more to this... Is using a phone "hands free" whilst driving any different to... Changing a cd or radio channel, arguing with the wife, shouting at the kids in the back, lighting a cigarette or looking for the hot bit when you drop it, being given nonsensical directions and unwanted advice from a back seat driver, and I am sure many more......

No difference at all Phill, as a response from the government's own Roads Research Laboratory showed. Using the benefit of all their accumulated knowledge, a previous government asked them a simple question, "What single measure would produce the greatest reduction in road accidents?"

After due consideration their answer was, "Put all car drivers in a compartment separated from any passengers",

I think that says it all, except I'd have added doing away with all other gadgets and in-car entertainment.
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