Thursday, August 29, 2013

Distracted drivers a deadly threat - ABC Online


These two crashes have been in the news this week, but they're just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fatalities and injuries being inflicted on our roads due to the growing problem of driver distraction.


Brisbane truck driver, Daniel Ronald Hennessy, pleaded guilty this week to dangerous driving causing death over the fatal bus crash in Singleton last September which took the life of schoolboy Harry Dunn.


The impact of the prime mover caused Harry to be thrown from the bus and he was run over, dying of massive head injuries.


Two other boys, including his brother, were seriously injured. Hennessy is yet to be sentenced.


In Sydney this week, 26-year-old Sarah Durazza was on the phone to her boyfriend when she lost control of her car and hit a tree at Narrabeen.


Her boyfriend heard the crash and rushed to the scene, but Sarah was already dead.


The number of crashes on NSW roads in which driver distraction was a factor have doubled in less than 10 years, new figures from the Centre for Road Safety show.


With more electronic devices being included in new cars, it's no longer just mobile phones that are the problem but other technology such as MP3 players and GPS systems as well.


Lauchlan McIntosh, from the Australasian College of Road Safety, told 1233 ABC Newcastle's Paul Bevan it's a worrying trend.


"It's disturbing, the increase that we've seen," he says.


"You don't have to blame people, but we've got to be a little bit more alert, and realise that the phone can't always be available.


"We're learning how to do that, but what's disappointing is that people want to blame the phone for the crash.


"Well, we should blame ourselves."


Lauchlan says we need to find ways to make a difference.


"Cars are becoming very sophisticated, you can now buy cars that won't run into the car in front because of the radar in the car," he says.


"We should be doing a lot more, we need to see that there are solutions.


"But right now there's an issue with distraction, and right now the issue is to make people realise you've got to watch what you're doing when you're driving."


In 2011, drivers distracted by something inside their cars were a contributing factor in 1585 NSW crashes, compared with 748 in 2004.


"We don't need to interfere with people's freedom, but people have to understand that it's not only their own freedom that we're talking about here," Lauchlan says.



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