10 June 2006
Dubai: Driving in the UAE can seem hazardous at the best of times with hundreds of cars rushing to their destinations at speeds that often creep above the limits.
When you pause to remember that many of the drivers will be talking on their mobile phones, things become doubly frightening.
Mobile phones and driving have never gone well together and across the world police forces are keen to clamp down on drivers who chat on their handsets while at the wheel.
Authorities, however, currently allow use of hands-free mobile phones.
It seems that Gulf News readers, too, do not want to see drivers with one hand on the steering wheel and the other one clamped round the latest all-singing, all-dancing mobile. In a poll, just four per cent of respondents said talking on a mobile phone while driving should be allowed without restrictions.
Fifty six per cent thought it should be permitted only if the driver has a hands-free kit, while 41 per cent went further and favoured a complete ban. City Talk spoke to a cross-section of Dubai residents to found out what they thought on the subject.
Amanda Khouri, 24, a Briton of Lebanese origin who is a partner in a trading company, said using a handset at the wheel could be dangerous but added that hands-free kits were "a good idea".
"I think people should use earphones when they are driving, although sometimes in an emergency people will pick up the phone. The best thing then is just to pull over that's what I do," she said.
A similar view was taken by Mahmoud Saleh, 34, a UAE national who manages a personnel department. "I think the hands-free kit is the best thing when driving. You can still concentrate on the road," he said.
Networking engineer Noha Jaradat, 30, from Jordan, said she uses a Bluetooth handset and finds it "very useful" when she is driving. She said people "cannot keep the car completely controlled" with just one hand when their other one is holding a mobile. "Banning the hands-free kit ... is too much because here in Dubai the traffic is too bad and we take so long a time driving that there are business things or personal things you have to deal with on your phone."
Sales executive Abdul Hameed, 35, from India, said "many" car accidents are caused by people talking on their mobiles without having a hands-free kit.
He said that a total ban on talking on the telephone was "a good idea" but he also echoed Jaradat's view that for business reasons it was important for people to be able to use their phones.
"Half of business is done over the telephone. In a city like Dubai people are always on the road and so a complete ban is not likely. It is better for people to be able to use a hands-free set," he said.
Brian Usher, a 48 year old construction worker from the United Kingdom, was against people being allowed to use their handsets while driving.
He said this should be outlawed "absolutely" but he drew the line at a ban that included hands-free kits as well.
"I wouldn't say the hands-free kit is a perfect option as people can still be distracted but it's considerably better than using a handset."
Like many of those asked, Usher said his tactic when the telephone rang while he was driving was simply to ignore it.
Jassem Maroof, 32, a UAE national who is in the army, said it was "very bad" for people to use their handsets while driving. "Many accidents are caused by people who are using their mobile phones. It's a big problem," he told Gulf News. He said hands-free kits were "very, very good" and were an acceptable alternative to using handsets.
Personal trainer Filip Tchamov, 32, from Bulgaria, said he used a hands-free kit in his car. He said he opposed a total ban on the use of mobiles while driving, although he added that the use of handsets at the wheel should "definitely" be against the law.
"Using a handset is really dangerous because you cannot concentrate. I've never had an accident because someone else has been using a mobile phone, but it could happen," he said.
Field sales manager Ashker Moossa, 36, an Indian, said only hands-free kits that were built into cars were safe for drivers. He said hands-free kits that used earpieces were still hazardous.
"The earpiece is a disturbance because people don't always keep it on their ear so when the phone rings they have to search for it. If it's built in, then it's just a case of pushing a button. That's completely safe," he said.
Shopowner Nadim Al Bakri, 26, from Syria, said he did not think any hands-free kits were safe for driving.
"When people are driving, they should not use mobile phones at all. I think perhaps 30 per cent of accidents are caused by people using mobile phones.
"There is no difference between using a handset and using a hands-free kit in a car. When people are talking they cannot concentrate," he said.
Also against all use of mobiles by drivers was housewife Pia Kapoor, 27, from India.
She too agreed said there were risks linked to the use of hands-free kits while driving.
"Maybe hands-free could be dangerous. You always have to press a button to take the call. I don't take calls at all when I am driving," she said.
When it comes to punishing people who have been caught using their mobiles in their cars, Kapoor said besides being fined the drivers should have their phones confiscated.
By Daniel Bardsley
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
