Analytics, Latvia, Transport

Traffic participants’ observations suggest that over the past five years, the use of mobile devices while driving has been on the rise, causing the necessity to highlight the problem with public campaigns and stepping up controls on the roads. In order to raise public awareness of the problem and change drivers’ habits, CSDD is launching a new traffic safety campaign Get Out of Your Phone!

“When getting into your car, get out of your phone! Our appeal is that simple,” CSDD board chairman Andris Lukstins said during the launch of the campaign. In his words, the motorists who use their phones while driving become like zombies, blind and deaf to anything that happens around them.

A survey conducted by Latvijas Fakti pollster for CSDD shows that 72% of motorists make calls, 43 text and 17 browse the Net and social networks while driving. Such behavior is more characteristic of young and inexperienced drivers, Lukstins commented.

When asked about the most effective measures that might prevent motorists from using mobile devices behind the wheel, 34% of respondents in the poll named increased controls on the roads, 34% named negative experience, 27 suggested toughening penalties and 23% recommended using a phone-blocking technology.

The CSDD survey on people’s attitude to using phones while driving was conducted in May 2018, interviewing 1,017 residents of Latvia aged 18 to 74.