ICT: Good or bad for road safety?

To most of travellers on Malawi’s roads, gone are the days they could throw their hands in the air and look up to the sky in search of an answer in times of accidents, breakdowns and other unforeseen setbacks. Nowadays, common sights of such scenes are never short of people tapping their phones, sending the message to their beloved family friends or asking for a way out.

As the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union (ITU) forecasts the population of mobile phone subscription to outnumber the world’s seven billion by December next year, road users are already testifying to the popular technology’s role in creating opportunities for people on the move.

“If you were involved in a bus accident or breakdown before the country adopted mobile phones in 1999, you had to wait for hours in the dark as driver and conductor rushed to the nearest police station, post office or government office just to phone their superiors to send another bus or a mechanic,” recalled one passenger when a bus travelling between Blantyre and Mzuzu broke down at Mtakataka in Dedza two months ago.

But every time they take to the road in a vehicle, not only most passengers and drivers have a phone at their fingertips to communicate across the world, navigate through dense traffic and find their way in unfamiliar terrain and setbacks. At the same time, the single most popular communication tool also gives them the flexibility to choose from an array of entertainment options—music, radio, television or social media—while they travel or wait for the next step.

Mobile on the road

But as mobile technologies are increasingly becoming a part of life, Malawians face the ongoing necessity to use them responsibly and with caution to avoid road accidents and injury.

Since the dawn of mobile phones, road safety has become a no lesser public health concern with global figures showing that every year, about 1.3 million people die in traffic-related accidents and another 20-50 million people are injured mainly in developing countries, including Malawi.

In fact, the country joined the global network of mobile phone users barely a year after the National Roads Safety Council of Malawi (NRSCM) described as alarming the number of road accidents. At that time, the council’s chief executive Kennedy Anthony likened the accidents, which resulted in 200 deaths per 10 000 vehicles, to HIV and Aids, saying that the major tragedy with road accidents is that they lead to the sudden death of young and accomplished professionals.

Nearly 15 years after former president Bakili Muluzi launched a national campaign to ensure road users arrive alive wherever they are going, NRSCM public relations officer Chisomo Chibwana says reckless use of mobile phones on the road accounts for a majority of accidents on the country’s roads, where about 1 962 accidents occurred last year alone.

The council’s situation analysis says 768 of the accidents reported to various police posts across the country killed 882 people, with the rest resulting in serious or minor injuries and damages.

With such figures in focus, Chibwana alternatively calls use of mobile phones while driving as a “silent cause” of accidents that are sometimes attributed to over-speeding, drunk driving, failure to keep left, perilous overtakes and other well-known factors that leave the country’s roads with a high death toll.

“Misuse of mobile phones is a silent killer because we have no indicators or research to capture the number of accidents resulting from this tendency. When caught using the phone while driving, most road users argue there is no equipment that can detect it the way speed-traps and breathalyzers detect cases of over-speeding and drunken driving, respectively,” said Chibwana, whose body is empowered to sensitise the public to road safety issues.

Mobile restriction

While the search for cocksure equipment continues, police officers use regulation 109 of the Traffic Act (2000) to arrest those seen attending to mobile phones while driving. The law, whose mandate is clearly restricted to motorists at the peril of pedestrians and cyclists, stipulates a fine of K3 000 for law-breakers.

Senior traffic officer Peter Mangoni, while admitting that abuse of cellphones is widespread despite years of sensitisation, says cautious use of telecommunications is always part of the requisite training drivers undergo.

“Every holder of a driving licence should be aware that using phones while driving does not only distract their attention from the road but can also lead to shock and trauma when drivers gets bad news such as hospitalisation and death of their loved ones,” said Mangoni.

In commemoration of this year’s International Telecommunications and Information Society Day on Friday, under the theme ‘ICTs and road safety’ the ITU is propagating responsible use of information communication technology to enhance the well-being of road users.

A statement issued ahead of the commemoration bills distraction and road-user behaviour—such as text-messaging and interfacing with in-vehicle navigation or communication systems while driving—some of the leading contributors to road traffic fatalities and injuries.

Fortunately, ITU secretary general Hamadoun Touré’s message is clear: “Don’t be distracted by technology when driving, whether calling from your mobile phone, or setting the navigation system. Sending a text message or tweeting while driving is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all cost.”

According to Toure, the theme calls on the telecommunication sector and member States to promote the use of safe interfaces and hands-free devices in vehicles and take action to eliminate technology-related distractions while driving.

In an interview this week, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) director of telecommunications Lloyd Momba said the theme also calls for national policies to encourage the use of ICT in enhancing road safety at a time 90 percent of Malawi enjoys mobile phone network.

“ICT affects almost every sector of our lives and development. Being the first time we are looking at road safety issues, it is very important for Malawians to reflect on how they use telecommunications as our cities and roads are getting congested. Even at the onset of mobile phones, it appears we did not give enough thought to this, but now there is need to promote the development and use of intelligent transport systems for even hands-free technologies will not safeguard us from accidents,” says Momba.

The call comes amid concerns that the country’s major roads are still unreached by phone signals and calls for comprehensive mapping to enable navigation technologies that are supported by mobile facilities. Coupled with self-restraint, improving the telecommunication will not only help prevent traffic accidents but also improve efficiencies in traffic management system.