Social Media News: Don't Text and Drive

Texting can be pretty distracting when you're driving. Just like when you're searching for your favourite track on your iPod or changing your air-con settings, disaster can strike when you glance down at something else for a split second. Maybe someone has run out in the road, or a lorry has pulled out in front of you on the motorway. And you would have reacted quickly, had you not been quickly messaging someone back on your mobile. That's why Zain Group, a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa, has taken matters into their own hands and started their 'Don't Text and Drive' campaign. Is it about time we did the same thing in the UK?

Source: commsmea.com

Now, it's taken a while, but since 2008 using any form of hand-held device whilst driving in the UK is illegal. Then again, so is driving whilst intoxicated, and yet there were still 6,680 road accidents linked to alcohol consumption in 2012. But the government continue to air more and more grotesque drink-driving adverts in the hopes that people will eventually get the message. And it has had some effect, with a general trend of a decline in numbers since records began in 1979.

Source: cumbria.police.uk

Zain Group is hoping it can achieve the same goals; to educate the masses that texting whilst driving can have the same disastrous consequence. The CEO of the Company Scott Gegenheimer explained the purpose of the campaign, stating that the main purpose was to "highlight the danger and consequences of irresponsible use of mobile phones". He also added that due to the "exponential rise of people using social media apps in recent years, the sad reality is that many of them are not acting in their personal or the public's best interest when using their mobile devices while driving".

Since 2011, the company has been pushing out all the stops to reduce the number of mobile-induced car accidents. From multimedia campaigns, heralding slogans such as "Hang up on your wife", to road shows, school and university visits, open panel sessions and social media campaigns, they're doing it all. This is one of their hard-hitting TV adverts, aimed at people who text and drive:

Despite the fact that the UK has also launched campaigns aimed to stop people from using their mobile phones whilst driving, road deaths rose in 2011 for the first time since 2003. Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, suggested the cause for this could be more people are distracted by mobile phones and listening to music.

In a recent report, Swiftcover stated that their research showed 5% of drivers admitted using social networking sites while driving. A visibly higher percentage of 18-34 year-olds were guilty of the offence, at 12%. Chief claims officer of swiftcover.com, Robin Reames, noted that current measure to stop motorists from driving and using mobile phones were simply not working.

The question remains as to whether the UK should impose stricter penalties for drivers found using their mobile phones. Or perhaps the government needs to concentrate on raising awareness of the risks involved with text driving. Either way, with social media becoming such an addictive and integral part of life, drivers of all ages needed to be reminded of its power to end lives too, if we're not too careful.

What do you think? Should the UK be doing more to reduce road deaths caused by mobile users?

Charlotte Callaghan

Charlotte is a trainee journalist, who loves writing about anything and everything. Currently an intern at Social Media Frontiers, you can follow her @charlotteatsmf and @CharlotteR_4

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