Dave Martin, founder of allthetopbananas.com and MoRecNews has written a very important post today about the impact of smartphones on the daily activity of driving. The thought of drivers using all of their smartphone apps while barreling down the M40 is truly frightening. With a huge nod to Dave, we felt this was important enought to republish in its entirety. You can read the post (and a host of other great stories) on MoRecNews.

DON'T JOBSEEK AND DRIVE
Dave Martin, MoRecNews
13 October 2010

Today the RAC (the RAC 2010 Report on Motoring) has pointed the finger at the smart phone. It is the cause for drivers getting distracted by using the mobile.

Previously such discussions were always about making phone calls, but today the research shows that 1 in 5 of UK drivers check their social network (Twitter or Facebook) on their phone while driving. Now I remember the law change with the phone calls and an out cry of people complaining about it – they could talk and drive and dialing a number was not too different to tuning the radio. However I cannot see how anyone believes they can drive safely and responsibly while they are logging into Facebook, reading messages and presumably responding. Is this the Social affect of Social Networks – reckless behavior to get a Facebook fix?

However, am I one of the five? I have looked at Twitter while sitting at a railway crossing waiting 10 minutes for trains to go by. Even if I am counted the figure is large enough to suggest we have crazy people moving around at high speed in charge of a ton of metal while being poked on Facebook?

Adrian Tink, RAC motoring strategist, said: “It’s extremely concerning that the use of mobile phones for texting and calling has risen in the past year. It is also worrying that people are admitting to using their phone for a whole host of social media applications while driving.

“Taking your eye off the road, just for a second, to read an alert or check who a call came from can have potentially fatal results. This steep rise in mobile phone usage at the wheel could potentially be set to continue as more and more people embrace smart phone technology.”

So if you are job hunting on your mobile – please wait until you are NOT behind the wheel. Better still put your Mobile in the boot and resist the temptation to touch it while driving. Be safe!

Last update : 20-10-2010 07:55

Keywords : smartphone, RAC, Dave Martin, Facebook, Twitter, MoRedNews, allthetopbananas.com

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