Police in the United Arab Emirates are attributing a big drop in motor vehicle crashes to last week’s three-day failure of some BlackBerry services, according to Abu Dhabi-based English language newspaper The National.
The paper reports that crashes dropped by 20 percent in Dubai during the disruption, and by some 40 percent in Abu Dhabi, where none of the crashes that occurred were fatal. By comparison, there is normally a fatal crash in Abu Dhabi every two days, and a crash occurs every three minutes in Dubai.
The service disruption knocked out BlackBerry users’ email, text messaging, and internet access in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
"The roads became much safer when BlackBerry stopped working," said Brig. General Hussein Al Harethi, director of the Abu Dhabi Police Department Traffic Department.
Dubai Police Chief Lt. General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said his department saw "a significant drop in accidents by young drivers and men on those three days." He added that young people were the largest users of messaging services.
Abu Dhabi police recently announced a campaign targeted at drivers using their devices behind the wheel, and General Tamim says Dubai Police have plans to begin using electronic evidence against drivers who cause accidents while using their smart phones.
"We have the capability to know who sent what when, and if an accident occurs while someone was messaging we will prove it and present the electronic evidence to the Public Prosecutor, and charge the driver with the costs of retrieving that evidence," he said.
The Abu Dhabi experience underscores that cell phones, and smart phones in particular, can be a dangerous distraction behind the wheel.
Related:
Fighting distracted driving: Technology can be part of the solution
Making NOYS: Teen safety summit tackles the dangers of texting and driving head on
Special section on teens and distracted driving
Source: Google Reader
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