Nowadays blogging while driving and sharing live videos while on the road has become a social trend, however it goes against the road traffic regulations.
Recently a video was trending on Facebook where a female motorist was recording live on Instagram and was involved in a crash. The use of a cellphone while driving, whether texting or making a phone call is a distraction on its own causing the driver to loose focus and concentration on the road.
According to regulation 30A of the national Traffic Act of 1996, “No person shall drive a vehicle on a public road, while holding a cellular or mobile telephone or any other communication device in one or both hands or with any part of their body.”
Section 1(b) further states that, “No person shall drive a vehicle on a public road, while using or operating a cellular or mobile telephone or other communication device unless such cellular or mobile telephone or communicative device is affixed to the vehicle or is part of the fixture in the vehicle and remains so affixed while being used or operated, or is especially adapted or designed to be affixed to the person of the driver as headgear, and is so used to enable such driver to use or operate such telephone or communication device without holding it in a manner contemplated in paragraph (a) and remains so affixed while being used or operated.
“It is illegal to drive whilst holding your cellphone. However, it seems that
it is even illegal to use a cellphone attached to a headpiece or Bluetooth device as long as the phone is not is affixed to the vehicle or is part of the fixture in the vehicle. It is also illegal to hold a mobile phone in your hand whilst driving regardless of whether you are attending to a call or not.
Last month, the Durban Metro Police officially launched its ‘No texting
and driving campaign’ in partnership with the United Nations (UN).
Metro Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad, said Durban was the first city to partner with the UN for the campaign. “When you see the results of texting and driving, you will wish you never drove with your cellphone near you,” he said.
Sewpersad said the issue of texting and driving has become a world issue. He told a story of how the campaign was started while he was attending a conference in Johannesburg.
“We came up with the initiative to unite against this issue. When you look at the results from the crashes that are caused by texting and driving, they are horrific. If you have to compare the statistics, you find that there are more road crashes caused by texting and driving than drinking and driving,” Sewpersad
said.
Sewpwersad has urged motorist to refrain from using their cellphones while driving. “Rather use your phone’s Bluetooth capabilities instead. Do not text and drive,” he said.
