Accidents caused by using cell phones while driving leave thousands dead each year in Brazil. This number is higher than accidents caused by tiredness at the wheel.
Cell phones are very present in people's daily lives for different purposes, and they are very useful and can help with daily work tasks, or just for leisure, for accessing social networks, movies, series, news and others. Despite their functionality and importance today, cell phones are already considered by the World Health Organization as one of the main risk factors for road safety, surpassing issues such as drowsiness and fatigue at the wheel.
Brazil has more than 240 million cell phones spread throughout the country and their use while driving has influenced the growing number of traffic accidents, and the issue has worried road safety experts.
Continue reading and learn more about this serious matter, which can put your life and the lives of others at risk.
Using a cell phone while driving
Through our cell phones, we can resolve various personal and professional issues, as well as stay up to date with the main daily news and also pay bills and make purchases with just one touch, in an easy and practical way.
But, despite bringing many benefits to our daily lives, cell phones can also bring many disadvantages. One of them is the addiction on the device, known as Nomophobia, which has grown a lot in recent times and leaves smartphone users completely stuck in their use, checking messages and social networks all the time.
This type of unbridled use can cause harm to the person's health, who cannot take their eyes off the device for even a minute, and can lead the user to use the cell phone, including when they are performing tasks, such as driving, putting their own life or the lives of others at risk, in the event of an accident.
Number of accidents caused by smartphone use
According to data released by the Brazilian Association of Traffic Medicine, using a cell phone while driving is the third leading cause of traffic fatalities. The number reaches 154 deaths per day, around 54,000 per year across the country. Alcohol consumption and speeding are still the main causes of fatal accidents on the roads, but the number of deaths caused by using cell phones has been increasing year after year.
According to data from the association, send messages Texting while driving at a speed of 80 km/h is equivalent to driving blindfolded for a distance of 100 meters, also putting the lives of pedestrians, motorcyclists and other drivers at risk. Another fact pointed out is that, in cases of calls, even after ending the call, the brain activity continues to return to this, remaining the risk of causing an accident seconds after the call ends.
The use of devices while driving is more common among young people under the age of 30. Women, compared to men, are more likely to be involved in accidents when driving while distracted, using a cell phone.
Infringement
Even if it does not cause accidents, using a cell phone, whether talking on the phone or using it to send messages, while driving is considered a very serious offense, according to article 252 of the Brazilian Traffic Code. In this case, the driver must pay a fine of R$$293.47, with seven points added to their National Driver's License.
