The improper use of mobile phones while driving continues to be the most frequent distraction punishable by a fine.
The Directorate General of Traffic, through the agents of the Traffic Grouping of the Guardia Civil and all those regional and local police who want to join, launches from today Monday a new specific surveillance campaign that will last until Sunday 13 October and that, on this occasion, will focus on distractions at the wheel.
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Traffic to monitor distractions at the wheel this week
As in previous editions, the campaign is part of Operation Focus on the Road, which is being carried out at the European level by the RoadPol (European Roads Policing Network) association.
Distracted driving is the number one contributor to traffic fatalities. In 2023 alone, it was present in 30% of all such accidents, a percentage that has increased by two points compared to 2019, which is why this type of campaign continues to be essential to warn of the risks involved in distracted or inattentive driving.
To this end, officers will monitor both interurban and urban roads. In addition to this roadside surveillance, the DGT also has automated means at its disposal, with 253 cameras installed on the roads, through which it is possible to determine, among other things, whether the driver is using a mobile phone while driving.
Risk factors
Distracted driving is a significant risk factor in traffic. Distracted driving is a frequent phenomenon that occurs when the driver’s attention is diverted from the tasks necessary for driving and at the same time other activities outside driving are carried out, diverting the driver’s attention from the road for a few seconds.
The nature of the distraction and its duration also have a direct impact on the increased risk of an accident. In this respect, activities that force the driver to look away from the road for longer periods and/or perform manual activities combined with cognitive activity have been found to significantly increase the risk of a crash.
The use of electronic devices, precisely in their various functionalities, is recognised in various studies as one of the most common distractions with severe consequences for attentive driving, as it is one of the distractions that causes disturbances in almost all the capacities needed for driving at the same time: cognitive, visual, manual, auditory, etc.
Moreover, the impact and the risk of collision vary according to the nature of the activity causing the distraction and its duration, and also according to the traffic and traffic context at the time and the driver’s characteristics.
In addition, the impact and crash risk varies according to the nature of the distracting activity and its duration, the traffic and traffic context at the time, and the driver’s characteristics.
In the reality of traffic, the higher the speed of the vehicle itself and/or other vehicles, the less reaction time the driver has to react to unforeseen events, and the more convenient it is for the driver to concentrate fully on driving tasks and avoid distractions of all kinds, especially those which involve taking one’s eyes off the road for longer periods, such as the manipulation of the aforementioned electronic devices.
Distraction and speed thus become a binomial that significantly increases the levels of risk while driving. The most frequent type of accident due to distraction is a run-off-the-road accident, together with a collision with the vehicle in front and/or a pedestrian collision.
The greater the distance, the greater the likelihood of colliding with an obstacle, another vehicle, or a pedestrian, especially in urban areas.
Results of the latest campaign
Mobile phone misuse while driving continues to be the most frequent punishable distraction.
In fact, in the last campaign to monitor and control distractions at the wheel, carried out from 9 to 15 October 2023, and which involved 360 municipalities in 41 provinces, 38% of the complaints were for the use of mobile phones at the wheel.