36% of Walloon motorists have admitted to checking their phones while driving, among other offences, in a new study by the Walloon Agency for Road Safety (AWSR)
The study concluded that most drivers overestimated their abilities behind the wheel, hence the normalisation of mobile phone use behind the wheel.
Over a quarter of the region's motorists send text messages and checked their emails while driving, despite the fact that "reading a short message at 120km/h can blind you for the next 200 metres," as stated by the AWSR's spokesperson Belinda Demattia.
The reason given for these infractions is that the majority of the study's respondents do not view driving as a task that requires sustained attention: 29% of motorists find it easy to read on a smartphone screen while driving, with another 18% claiming to be able to write a message or an email while on the road.
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However, their beliefs are not backed by data, with the AWSR's neuropsychologist Anne-Sophie Mortgat revealing that the automatisms "allowing us to be able to perform certain tasks simultaneously" does not apply to driving.
Especially in the event of an unexpected situation, as drivers "might not be able to react in time" if they are on their phones which results in them only receiving half of the information about their immediate environment.
To combat these offences, the AWSR will soon be launching a campaign via roadside posters and radio spots to encourage motorists to ditch their phones, with a multi-tasking test also planned.
