Apart from the high rate of pedestrian fatalities and critical injuries incurred by those who walk on the road, motorists are also highly involved in loss of control of their vehicles, head-on collisions and overturning of automobiles.
Many of these road calamities are attributed to driver distraction while behind the wheel. This underlying behaviour may result from many factors, but investigations have cited the use of the cellphone as the predominant root cause, stealing the driver’s attention and focus away from the road. In light of this, the column appeals to drivers never to pick up or make calls while driving, lest they lose focus and cause a serious accident.
At the launch of the Ingwenyama Cup 2025/2026, this theme was strongly emphasised and will run throughout the tournament and beyond. Road users, pedestrians and motorists alike, are being made aware of the multitude of dangers associated with the use of these gadgets within the road space. It would be very prudent and safety-assuring for drivers to desist from using their phones while in traffic, and for pedestrians as well while crossing the road.
Loss of focus and being oblivious to other road users
Once a driver is on the phone, they are often unable to remain cognisant of what is happening in the vicinity of the road they are travelling on. In some instances, drivers have rammed into slow-moving or even stationary vehicles in front of them because they were on the phone and failed to detect the hazard ahead. Other drivers, in attempts to avoid crashes, have veered off the road, overturned their vehicles or damaged road furniture.
The fallacious belief is that everyone thinks they can chat, text and even surf the internet on their phones while driving. Until an accident occurs as a result of cellphone use, complacency rules the driver’s mind, and a traffic accident looms over their vehicle and others on the road. Encroachment into oncoming traffic lanes has resulted in numerous collisions, where investigations later revealed that the erring party was on the phone at the time of the accident.
Whether one is driving or not, cellphone use has the potential to shift focus and alter emotions and moods for better or worse.
If a driver receives or makes a call while driving, their mood, demeanour and emotions are likely to change, affecting how they concentrate on the road. Couples have argued in cars while one partner is driving because a call came through and the other was displeased by it. Such disputes compromise the driver’s focus, the couple’s safety and that of other road users in the vicinity.
Even when it is music that a pedestrian listens to as they cross the street, its effect may interfere with their ability to focus and discern whether it is the safest time to cross the road.
Take aways
- Drop that call and focus on the road ahead
- Your decision matters every kilometre until you get there
- Passengers encourage the driver not to use a cellphone while driving
- That song could be last thing you hear as you cross the road
- ‘Ngubani Mbali?’- Drop that convesation or your driver/ boyfriend shall falter on the road
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