DRIVING SAFE IN GHANA SERIES: ARTICLE No. 2: DRIVER DISTRACTIONS.
People at times have the erroneous impression that the mobile phone is the cause of most fatal accidents on our roads today. Well if you are one of such people then maybe you ought to think again. Now read this very interesting finding I gathered from my research on the Internet quite recently.
According to a study conducted in the USA about 5 years ago, the study reported that nearly all drivers are distracted at some point or another behind the wheel. The study, which was prepared by University of North Carolina researchers for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, used cameras placed inside the cars of 70 volunteers to watch their driving behavior. Results gathered from a randomly selected 3 hour span for each driver observed indicated that, despite the emphasis in recent years on the dangers of driving and talking on mobile phones, those phones were really not the top distraction.
The amazing top culprit from the research finding was that of reaching and leaning inside the car while driving to pick up, look for or adjust something. The study also confirmed that more than 97 percent of drivers do it all the time. In addition to this, the study found 91.4 percent of the drivers involved manipulate the car radio; 71.4 percent eat, smoke and drink, and 77.1 percent engage in a conversation with a passenger. Only 30 percent used mobile phones while driving, according to the study report.
"When you think about the fact that there's an excess of 42,000 people who die on our highways every year, if 25 percent of those accidents are caused by driver distraction, and if we could address that problem, only then could we substantially reduce the number of casualties," the study report continued.
The report further stated that the AAA, Foundation for Traffic Safety, was therefore calling on states to include instructions on dealing with distractions in driver's license manuals. According to AAA, Foundation for Traffic Safety, just five states namely, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia and Wisconsin, dedicated a section to the topic in their driver’s license manuals at that time.
The auto association of the USA was offering common-sense tips for motorists to keep from being distracted while they drive. They included tips such as, pre-programming radio stations in the car and also to avoid fumbling with maps while driving. They advised that designating the front-seat passenger as a "co-pilot." To take care of such things was the best practice to ensuring safe driving on the roads. People who will be driving alone were advised to map out destinations on their GPS receivers in advance, before starting the journey. The association further advised teaching children good behavior in the car so that they don't distract the driver as well as personal grooming being done at home and not in the car.
"It really is a matter of awareness. It's causing people to understand that these activities need to be carried out at a point in their driving where there is the least risk,” the report concluded. AAA, Foundation for Traffic Safety is in the process of unveiling a nationwide radio public service announcement on distracted driving to reach people on the roadways.
Well folks, this research finding really got me thinking seriously about our road safety situation here in Ghana today. Many a times, I would tune into the radio to listen to discussions on road safety and these guys will be on radio telling Ghanaians that they are doing the best they can to educate road users on how to drive safe. These sponsored road safety campaigns have gone on for so long, and yet the statistics of road accidents keep climbing up the scale at a very quick pace. Even President Atta Mills is so worried at the situation that he himself now talks about it from time to time.
From the study report I mentioned earlier, I gathered that the findings from the report also applied to Ghana, except that the situation here is even much worse. If you will recall from my second blog article on “Staying Alive on our Roads during Easter”, I talked about the numerous horrendous accidents which occur on our roads all the time and how we could minimize the rate of occurrence during the Easter period. The number one findings in the report happens to be one of the major causes of accidents on our roads among others, and until the Ghana National Road Safety Commission devise a way similar to what the AAA is currently doing, the solution to curb our situation will only become an illusion.
I quite remember a very fatal accident that occurred in 1987 or thereabout, at the Cape Coast UCC junction and it claimed almost all the passengers on board the Takoradi bound mini bus. A survivor of the accident told the media that the driver of the mini bus, who was obviously driving at top speed, reached into his glove compartment to pick up a cassette tape and in the process veered into the lane of the on-coming vehicle. The result was a very fatal head-on collision.
Many of the accidents on our roads can also be attributed to drivers who drive long hours and as a result they get very tired and are unable to take evasive action to avoid a head-on collision. Some of the accidents are caused by over speeding even on sharp bends on the highway and as a result the vehicle veers onto the other lane causing an accident. A few weeks ago an accident which occurred ones again on the now notorious Winneba-Apam stretch of road claimed the life of the driver and also injured others. This time around, it was reported that the accident occurred as a result of the driver overtaking about four vehicles at a stretch and then rammed into the back of a truck. Late last year an accident, which never should have happened, occurred on a narrow bridge near a village in the Central Region between a 207 mini bus carrying about 16 passengers and a Tico taxi cab. According to the driver of the Tico cab, he was already half way across the narrow bridge when he suddenly saw the 207 bus veer into the same bridge from the opposite direction at top speed. The taxi cab driver sensing eminent danger had no choice but to abandon his cab in the middle of the bridge and jump into the river for safety. The 207 bus rammed into the cab and plunged into the river killing several passengers.
I read this article in the dailies but I cannot recollect exactly where it happened. I want to believe that the 207 bus driver obviously knew the terrain very well, but the question is why did he drive at very top speed as he approached the narrow bridge? Did the passengers caution him about his recklessness, but he did not heed their advice? I guess we will never know because the driver in question became a casualty himself.
Most of these accidents could be avoided if only the drivers took their time and were a little bit more patient on our roads. I see many trotro drivers on the city’s roads virtually racing with each other for passengers and in the process; they cross other vehicles causing minor accidents. Some of these drivers will even scratch your car and when you dare to complain, they will rain insults or pick up a fight with you as well. There is so much indiscipline on our roads these days that sometimes, even the traffic police just stand by and look on helplessly, leaving you to your fate.
I particularly liked the part where the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said that it had included instructions on dealing with distractions in driver's license manuals. I do not know whether Ghana has such a manual which deal with such safety measures. What I know of is just a handbook which only teaches the road signs. For a driver who cannot read or write, I wonder how such a book will be of use to him or her. I will suggest to the responsible authorities and the National Road Safety Commission that they should consider including common-sense tips for drivers to keep from being distracted as well as other relevant dos and don’ts for ensuring safe driving on our roads. Some of these manuals could be translated into vernacular for non English readers as well.
I know that attempts are also being made to educate the populace on safe driving on state television through adult education programs. However, the unfortunate thing is that these programs are usually aired between 5.30pm and 7pm or so, a time when most of the target audience are stuck up in heavy traffic on their way home from work. I believe therefore, that the whole exercise will perhaps end up only benefiting fewer than 5 percent of the target group. A serious look and review of these laudable programs on TV should be done on this issue if good results are to be expected from these road safety education campaigns.
Finally, I wish to call on all motorists who ply our roads daily, especially the commercial drivers to be more patient when driving and also heed all traffic signs as they approach dangerous areas on the road. The bottom line for me is that, there is the urgent need for a broader national education which should begin in our tertiary institutions and also for motorist on these eminent dangers and perhaps a requirement by law to enforce them.
