Week-long police campaign to target distracted motorists

‘Drive a Car while Driving’ will continue until Sunday

Annaclaire Crumpton

The police will increase their enforcement of safe driving laws this week from Monday 17 until Sunday 23 September as they aim to curb smartphone use on the road. Motorists caught using their smartphones behind the wheel should expect a fine of 1,500 kroner.

The week-long awareness campaign, which is aptly named ‘Drive a Car while Driving’, aims to reduce distracted driving.

The driving campaign is not the first run by the police to tackle this issue. In the past, these campaigns are effective at first, but every time they end, the number of distracted drivers shoots back up.

READ MORE: Motorists using mobiles still a menace on the motorways

Digital wreckage
Rådet for Sikker Trafik, the council for safe traffic, attributes one third of all fatalities in car accidents to distracted driving.

Despite having some of the lowest rates of traffic fatalities in the world, Denmark recorded 60 traffic deaths related to distracted driving in 2017.

Facebook fuelling the fire
A poll of over 26,000 respondents found that 6 percent of drivers in passenger vehicles admitted to distracted driving. Alarmingly, the rates for drivers of semi-trucks more than double with 15 percent of polled truckers admitting to distracted driving.

Those polled report updating Facebook, sending texts and emails, and even watching movies behind the wheel.

Snapchat stimulating the speed 
The social media giant Snapchat poses yet another threat.

Motorists film themselves zipping through city traffic, going well beyond the speed limit, and then post the high-speed videos while en route.

As Snapchat continues to rise in popularity, the number of motorists who feel obligated to update their digital friends on their reckless driving will only increase.

Future rules of the road
As technologies become more accessible to the average driver, the government is planning to muster up more safe driving legislation.

A bill is expected to be passed this autumn that will add a licence penalty point to a driver’s record if they are caught using their smartphones behind the wheel.

 

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