Using telephone while driving – reason for a couple of hundreds car accidents a year
Using telephone while driving – reason for a couple of hundreds car accidents a year
The plan of the State Police to increase the control over drivers using a mobile phone behind the wheel is a very welcome measure, as it is a necessary step towards reducing the number of road traffic accidents. According to data of BTA Baltic Insurance Company (BTA), such careless attitude of drivers each year causes losses to other road users that can be measured in tens of thousands euros.
Establishing the fact of mobile phone use at the moment of causing a road traffic accident is not easy, as the drivers at fault are not willing to admit violating the traffic rules. For the major part, this can be proven by means of testimonies of eyewitnesses and those injured, and such occasions are quite a few. The problem is significant, as it is supported by the fact that 3390 drivers were fined by the State Police in 2017 for the use of a phone while driving. As many as 453 drivers have been fined in the first two months of this year, according to the statistics of the State Police. It is approximately the same amount as in January and February last year, and it indicates that the problem does not diminish.
Experts of BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department estimate that each year reckless phone use while driving leads to a couple of hundred car accidents.
“Speaking over the phone, reading and texting, as well as viewing video or use of other content distracts the attitude of driver that much that the driver is no longer able to see, what is going on the road. Very often car accidents happen while the traffic is slow, when the driver believes that he is in control of everything, but fails to notice the driver ahead slowing down or stopping, and slams in the car ahead. We have also seen more extreme cases, when the driver, buried deep in the phone content, swerves in the oncoming traffic lane or drives off road, and the outcome is disastrous,” says BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department Director Kārlis Liepiņš.
BTA received approximately 6350 CASCO insurance claims in 2017. In 2818 cases, the car had collided with another vehicle, and in 201 cases – driven off road. The losses incurred by drivers in these car accidents exceeded 8.5 million euros.
Insurance indemnities were paid to 5150 motor third party liability insurance holders. In 1456 cases, the car of the driver at fault had crushed in another vehicle, while in 445 cases it had driven off road. Insurers suspect that in a couple of hundred of these cases the driver’s attention was not focused on the road. Probably, the attention was focused on the telephone screen. BTA has disbursed of nearly 7 million euros in MTPL insurance indemnities in total.
As announced earlier, the State Police briefed of its plan in near future to start testing an unmarked car having specialized equipment enabling detection of phone use while driving. The car will be equipped with side-facing photo and video cameras, which will record the driver’s activity while behind the wheel and simultaneously automatically record the vehicle’s licence plate number.
About BTA
BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1 000 employees in the Baltics. The largest shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG with 200 years of experience in the insurance industry. More than 50 companies in 25 countries constitute the group, which employs 25,000 employees. Vienna Insurance Group AG is a clear leader in its core markets in Europe maintaining high rating of financial stability – Standard & Poor’s A+ (stable outlook), with a listing on the Vienna and the Prague Stock Exchange.
Additional information:
Elīna Rasmane
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
e-mail elina.rasmane@bta.lv