Use of mobile phone while driving is one of the major cause of road accidents in India. If you check stats, in the last decade alone we have lost around 1.3 million valuable lives to road crashes. India’s top telecom operator Vodafone India and SaveLIFE Foundation has conducted a survey among Indian drivers to understand the usage, effect and perception of using a mobile phone while driving. The operator has now released a report titled – ‘Distracted Driving in India: A Study on Mobile Phone Usage, Pattern & Behavior‘.

The study was conducted among 1749 drivers across Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Kanpur, Mumbai and Kolkata cities. Four categories of drivers were part of the survey, this includes two-wheeler drivers, four-wheeler drivers, truck/bus drivers and auto-rickshaw drivers. Finally, the survey was based on four broad sections, demography, the extent of mobile phone use, the effect of mobile phone use on road user behaviour and perception of mobile phone use by road users.

Some facts from the study

  • Around 47 percent receive calls on their mobile phone while driving. Whereas 28 percent make a call while driving.
  • Among cities, 7 out of 10 respondents (70 percent) in Bengaluru receive a call while driving and more than 6 out of 10 (65 percent) make a call while driving.
  • 41 percent people answer calls while driving if it’s work related.
  • Around 10 percent respondents read text messages/Emails and around 7 percent respondents send messages/Emails while driving. Four-wheeler drivers (13 percent) tend to read messages and emails more often than other typologies.
  • Only 7 percent respondents use social media (like Facebook, Twitter) while driving.
  • 6 out of 10 or 60 percent people do not stop the vehicle at a safe location before answering a call.
  • About 21 percent truck/bus drivers call and continue to drive while the conversation is on.
  • 85 percent respondents dial numbers manually while driving. Almost 43 percent respondents reported that they hold the phone in their hand while talking and driving.
  • 47 percent of the respondents who used their phone while driving use turn signals less frequently. 38 percent look in rear view or side view mirrors less frequently, 34 percent apply the brakes suddenly, 21 percent change lanes more frequently, and 14 percent drive faster when talking on their mobile phones.
  • 94 percent people believed that use of mobile phones while driving is dangerous.
  • Interestignly 15 percent respondents were not aware of the fact that using a mobile phone while driving is an offence.
  • 68 percent respondents reported that they strongly support the use of high-speed cameras by police to apprehend drivers using a mobile phone while driving.

Vodafone-SaveLIFE Foundation Road Safe App

Vodafone India and SaveLIFE Foundation has come together under the ‘Safety in Mobility’ initiative to launch the Road Safe App. The mobile app offers various features that help you to have a distraction free driving.

Vodafone-SaveLIFE Foundation Road Safe App
  • The app will automatically disable calls, SMS and Push notifications when the vehicle speed above 10 km per hour.
  • Using mobiles accelerometer, the app will detect a sudden drop in vehicle speed and provides automatic voice enabled emergency response assistance.
  • The app will have details of emergency services and call, SMS to saved emergency contacts.
  • Using the app you can check the details of all traffic offences and fines for States and Union Territories in India.
  • Daily road safety tips for safe driving.

Interested in the app? you can freely download the Read Safe app by sending an SMS ‘ROADSAFE‘ TO 56677 from any mobile connection.

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