If you’re one of those people who can’t stand to be detached from a phone, or if you’re one of those people who can’t stand the people who can’t be detached, here’s ammunition for your arguments.
Portuguese drivers are more likely than anyone else to be on the phone, hands-free or not, texting, checking mail and all the rest of it. A recent survey indicated that 74% of Portuguese drivers use their phones on the road, compared to Ireland and North America (67%), France (58%), Spain (55%) and the UK (47%). The study was done by the Portuguese Road Safety Authority in collaboration with Liberty Seguros (yes, it’s a branch of the emu company).
A breakdown for Portugal showed that 69% were checking messages and calls, 52% admit to responding to notifications, 26% read their emails and messages and 18% use social media apps. Only 13% avoid temptation by putting the phone out of reach, 9% put the phone in silent mode and 18% use vibration.
José Miguel Trigoso, president of the Road Safety Authority, warned that using a hands-free system, despite being legal, is just as distracting as talking with the phone in hand (which is illegal), due to the cognitive distraction it causes, increasing the risk of accidents. The company and the authority are planning a new awareness campaign to cut down the instances.
