By Kyoko Abe
You may have seen people who eat, make a call or put on makeup while driving. Also, you must have heard some news about car accidents because of these careless activities. People are busy and want to do it while driving. Whatever their reasons, distracted driving is a serious problem.
First, it’s dangerous to drive and do something else. According to data of the National Police Agency, the number of traffic accidents related to mobile phone use, etc. doubled to 2,645 in 2019, compared to 1,380 per year in 2009. Each day, more than 9 people are killed due to distracted driving. More than 1060 people are injured in crashes that involve a distracted driver. One out of 3 people text while driving. You are 23 times more likely to crash while texting while driving. Distraction was reported as a factor in nearly 1 in 5 crashes in which someone was injured.
Second, drivers underestimate the danger of distracted driving. The number of traffic accidents caused by using mobile phones was 1424 in last year. Also, the fatal accident rate because of using mobile phones was 2.4 times higher than the cases where people didn’t use them. The length of time a driver perceives danger by looking at an image varies depending on the driving environment, but according to various research reports, it is consistent that the driver perceives danger if the image is viewed for more than two seconds. If you drive at 60 km/h, it will cover approximately 33.3 meters in 2 seconds. If a pedestrian crosses the road during that time, or if the vehicle in front of you stops due to a traffic jam, you may cause an accident. It means that looking away lead to an accident.
Finally, imprisonment for distracted driving is too short. As of January 2021, if you look at the screen of a smart phone call or car navigation system while driving, you will be subject to “imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to 100,000 yen”. Compared to November 2019, a new penalty of imprisonment has been added, and the fine has doubled from “50,000 yen or less” to “100,000 yen or less”. The penalty is tripled to 18,000 yen (for ordinary cars), and the number of violation points is also tripled to 3 points. However, if you cause traffic hazards, you will be subject to “imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 300,000 yen”. Since there is no penalty and the score is tripled to 6 points, you cannot escape the penalty by paying the penalty and your license will be suspended. However, the penalties should be heavier because it involves human lives. In addition, people do not have a sense of danger because the penalties are lenient.
Thus, distracted driving is very dangerous. Drivers should be aware of the dangerous consequences of distracted driving and the term of imprisonment should be longer.
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/intelfreepress/8598246170/sizes/o/in/photostream/
