Two thirds of road users do not care about app and texting bans while driving | Inland

This is apparent from the Social Media Diary Survey that the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) commissioned for the awareness campaign ‘MONO’.

It is clear from the survey that Dutch drivers believe that the social media messages they receive while driving are mostly unimportant (84%) and not worth the risk of a fine (94%). Almost half even find them nonsensical and useless.

“This research shows that by far the majority of messages you receive while riding a bicycle or in the car can wait very well. Even if you are curious when you receive a message, realize that reading and replying to it leads to dangerous situations. So protect yourself and others and drive MONO, with your eyes on the road instead of your screen”, responds Minister Barbara Visser of IenW.

‘Do not disturb’

She calls on road users to put on their phone ‘do not disturb’ while driving or to ensure that they do not receive notifications in some other way. They cause distraction and dangerous situations.

The research shows that seven in ten Dutch people receive messages or notifications on their telephones when they are in a car, bicycle, scooter, moped or light moped. Although in most cases they do not respond, two-thirds admit to reading them. Young people more often than older people. The messages on the road are often about social contacts, appointments and family, or they are conversations in group apps.

More than half of the drivers who use their telephones in traffic indicate that something has happened as a result. The most frequently mentioned were slowing down, hitting off the road or swinging and reacting more slowly. In some cases, this led to an accident or a fine from the police.

To kill time

15% of road users admit to not only receiving messages, but also sending them. It is also striking that 14% of men think that driving can be combined with using a telephone, compared to 6% of women. They often do it to kill time while driving and because they believe the chance of a ticket is small.

Incidentally, the fine for using the telephone on a bicycle is 100 euros and a print for texting or calling behind the wheel of a car costs 250 euros.

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