Mrs. Mary Uduma, director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has decried the use of mobile phones while driving; a situation which the commission said results to 25 per cent of crashes on the Nigerian highway.
Uduma, who made this known at the Arrive Alive Safety Initiative (AARSI) sponsored by NCC, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Chevron, First Bank, Zenith and Diamond Bank, emphasised on the readiness of the telecom regulatory authority in curbing this occurrence. AARSI is a private sector funded association through which members and businesses seeks partnership with government on policy reforms as they affect road safety.
According to her, NCC would engage telecom operators in creating awareness on the dangers of using their mobile devices and other distractive transaction associated with it while driving, as it is an offence which attracts severe penalty in accordance with road safety laws.
Commenting on this, Danjuma Aliyu Garba, zonal commander, Lagos FRSC, explained that a recent research shows that Nigeria ranks 191 out of 192 countries whose roads were rated based on safety standards, and that the greatest culprits are the elites who make calls on their mobile devices while driving.
Similarly, Yomi Fawehinmi, Chevron representative, noted that most intriguing part of the research on short message service (SMS) while driving shows it is a dangerous behaviour. “Research has shown that the human brain is incapable of attending to a conversation and the road simultaneously,” he said while urging the telecom operators to embark on massive awareness campaign through SMS and relevant information on their websites on dangers of distraction caused by the use of mobile device while driving.
According to him, ways to strengthen enforcement in this regard includes fine like in the United States where $25 to $500 are imposed on offenders and executive action like that imposed by President Barack Obama, instructing federal employees not to text while driving government vehicles.