ER24 warns about dangers of using cellphones while driving
METRO – ER24 communications manager says, an insurer can decline to pay for damages if a driver has an accident while using a mobile device, like a cellphone.
Road accidents seem to be high during holiday period like the festive season.
According to the ER24 communication manager Werner Vermaak, drivers who are distracted by their mobile phones vastly increase their risk of becoming involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Vermaak explains that driver distraction as a result of texting and talking on mobile devices is one of the leading causes of car accidents in South Africa.
He says that talking and texting on the road has a real effect on a driver’s reaction times and cognitive functions, impairing his or her ability to make the split-second decisions that spells the difference between avoiding or causing a road accident.“In the worst case, a driver might be using one hand to scroll or input text on a phone and looking at a mobile screen rather than the road,” says Vermaak.
“This problem has been exacerbated since the advent of smartphones – now, drivers are not just reading and checking SMS messages but even browsing the Web and social media.”
According to Australia’s National Roads and Motorists Association, drivers who send text messages spend up to 400 per cent more time with their eyes on the phone than on the road.
What’s more, studies show that a texting driver’s reaction time can be poorer than someone who drank alcohol to the legal limit or smoked marijuana.
When it comes to talking and driving, insurer Discovery estimates that 80 per cent of calls are made without hands-free kits.
This is despite the fact that the law forbids driving and speaking on your mobile without the use of a hands-free kit.
“If you cause an accident because you were using your mobile while driving, the insurer could be within its rights to decline to pay for repairs to your car
and the other cars involved,” says Vermaak. “Thus, the financial consequences can be devastating.”
He advises that if people want to use the GPS function on their phones, they should input the destination before driving.
ER24 and Cellfind offer a service called IDme that connects you to fast medical help via your cellphone in the event of an emergency.
IDme turns your cellphone into a panic button which immediately links you to ER24’s Contact Centre when you hit a speed dial number.“Cellfind’s technology enables ER24 to save you valuable time by dispatching the closest and most appropriate emergency resource, providing life-saving treatment, and transporting you to the nearest suitable medical facility,” says Jacques Swanepoel, MD at Cellfind.
