Rwanda National Police

Special-hire (cab) drivers have been cautioned against distracted driving, one of the dangerous human practices causing fatal road accidents.

The call was made on Wednesday by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khalid Kabasha, the Deputy Commissioner for Public Relations and Media while addressing about 200 special-hire drivers operating in City of Kigali.

Distracted driving is described as the practice of driving a motor vehicle while engaged in another activity, typically one that involves the use of a mobile phone or other electronic device.

The meeting with taxi-drivers is part of the ongoing month dedicated to raising awareness against distractive driving, conducted jointly by Rwanda National Police and MTN-Rwanda. It comes on the 28th week of the year-long Gerayo Amahoro campaign aimed at bringing massive positive change on road usage.

“Distracted driving is becoming a serious issue as it is one of the leading preventable causes of accidents on our roads, killing and seriously injuring people, especially the young ones, who constitute the majority of victims,” SSP Kabasha said.

“Using a phone while driving takes your full attention from the road, as your eyes, ears as well as one hand go to the phone. The resulting cognitive distraction means you can easily drift off of the road, hit the car in front of you that is slowing down, or even injure a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist, because your reflexes and reaction time are affected by the distraction” he added.

SSP Kabasha observed that distracted driving increases risks to road crashes four-folds.

“Receiving a call, making a call or texting while on the wheel leads to both physical and cognitive distraction; even putting your phone in loud speaker can be distractive because your brains shift to a particular message the caller is giving you.  Don’t be a victim or cause an accident; put your phone away when on the wheel, it is not worth your life or the life of any other road user,” he emphasized, urging them to shift to making right safer choices rather than being forced.

Being in traffic jam or being stopped by traffic control signs, he said, doesn’t mean one can use a cellphone.

Robert Ruyenzi from MTN-Rwanda observed that writing or reading a text or any communication on phone when driving puts passengers’ lives at a significantly higher risk of fatal accident.

“Can you live with the idea that you killed someone because you were distracted by just a phone,” Ruyenzi wondered, adding: “Always remember someone’s lives that you are putting in danger, killing your clients, someone’s child, husband and wife… your life as a driver and your business.”

Xavier Munyaneza, the head of special hire drivers’ federation urged drivers to always consider their lives, that of their passengers, other motorists and respect pedestrians.

“It only takes a couple of seconds to park your car and have a conversation on phone. Some of us have witnessed cases where a driver takes eyes off the road to read a text message or make a call, and in few second it turns horrific,” observed Munyaneza.