MAKING PHONE CALLS ON WHEELS: A culture begging for stiffer legal attention

A lot of accidents happen all the time across the nation and not many causes are attributed to making phone calls while driving.
In an environment like Lagos, each individual is prone to accidents because the population of the growing Mega City is on the rise all the time.

Every passing day, the sight of motorists talking on phones while in motion is no longer strange to members of the public. When the law was promulgated during the administration of former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), law enforcement officers made a meal of it, chasing motorists, booking them and later demanding on-the-spot settlement or “plea bargain” as they thoroughly exploited the opportunity, but not anymore. It would appear everyone has come to terms with the vogue.

A traffic officer who spoke in confidence to our correspondence said offenders of this law cut across, from private motorists, commercial bus drivers, tricycle operators, even commercial motorcycle riders have all taken the law for granted. “The truth is that policemen find it difficult to chase a motorist making calls in motion, and I can tell you, every day we see even men in uniform doing the same thing, so what can the police do?

“In many cases, accidents tend to occur because individuals have the habit of making or taking calls while on the wheels. As everyone know, answering phone calls while driving is a form of distraction. As individuals, though the brain can be multi-tasked, yet performs best if the brain concentrates on one thing at a time,” he said.

It would be recalled that men in uniform had engaged in physical fights over one challenging the other of making calls while driving. Cases also abound of accidents resulting from law officers chasing commercial bus drivers who were sighted making calls on wheels.

According to statistics, Nigeria has recorded 11,363 road cases of accidents in 2016 alone. A state as big as Lagos, record also shows, suffers much causality, not from vehicle accidents alone, but from floods, diseases and all other forms of incidents.

One member of the recently sacked Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), Mr. Dimeji Atobatele who discussed the problem, said accidents tend to happen in Lagos because of insufficiency of traffic signals. “Most traffic signals are not taken seriously where visible, but largely, there is insufficient traffic warning signs at designated places all over the state and this causes increase in accidents and traffic gridlocks especially.

In some cases, Dimeji said, most drivers do not respect these signs, thereby promoting accidents. “Many drivers are under pressure because they are not patient with the situation of things. The frustration of being stuck in traffic for a long period of time has a tendency of causing accidents. Many will want to get out of such situation in hurry and in their haste to beat the traffic and cut corners, the generate accidents causing the death of many in the process,” he said.

Cell phones are useful in cases of emergency, but it could be dangerous while on the wheels. The dangers of driving and steering the wheel are manifold. First of all, it takes the driver’s eyes off the road momentarily; and secondly, the driver could get absorbed while talking.

Some people believe that answering phone calls or even chatting on line in traffic is a class, a kind of vogue, but this is far from the truth because other people’s lives are at risk.

The earpiece no solution

Most individuals make use of ear piece or hands free devices while driving because they believe that they are not distracted in the process. But a psychologist and public health worker, Mr. Mulerin Adeola told The Daily Times said the functions of the human brain, multitasking as it may appear, are not like rocket science.

In his analysis, he stated that gadgets such as hands free or Bluetooth can easily divert the attention of the driver when you least expect it – and that, in turn, puts many lives in danger.

“In a situation whereby there is any form of unexpected news cropping up during the conversation on phone, the motorist could likely miscalculate, misjudge or swerve off course momentarily – and this is just what accidents need to happen. It only takes a focus and balanced mind to steer the wheels especially in uneven traffic situations like we have in Lagos,” he said.

Under the FRSC Establishment Act 2007, Section 10 (sub section 4) states interalia: “Making or receiving phone call while driving vehicles is an offence and the punishment is N4000 or a jail term of six (6) months.”

The best way to avoid putting your life and that of others in danger is to park at a corner of the road to attend to the intended emergency.

It is important to be conscious when driving; more awareness should be made at the centre of this crisis. This will help greatly in averting road accidents.