Mobile Phone Text Alerts Can Cause Accidents

Wednesday, 28. January 2009

Mobile phones are in the spotlight again. This time as a result of the dangers posed by the various alert text messages causing drivers to check their phones whilst driving which is of course illegal and very dangerous. The one that has come in for most criticism is traffic alerts provided by Trafficmaster. The idea was to enable drivers to receive updates before starting a journey and be advised of any possible delays, however it has been claimed that as many as 20 alerts can be received by a driver during the course of his journey which can lead to a crash resulting in serious injury or death with the driver potentially facing a prison sentence under the new laws. However this is just one problem, people are receiving alerts whilst driving for a wide range of things from the latest sports news to progress on the sale of an item on eBay and horse racing results. So whilst drivers may feel they are keeping within the law by having a hands free system in the car they are still picking up text messages and alerts. A Trafficmaster spokesman said ‘The service is designed to provide commuters with delay information on the route before they start their journey. Our customers appreciate that the ideal time to receive delay data on their commute is before they set off for the workplace or home.’ Most police forces are tightening up on using a phone whilst driving so don’t get caught looking down at your phone whilst driving, you may not be in for just a fixed penalty. By Graham Hill