Media Release: For immediate release

aangel.com

30 July, 2009

Entrepreneur appeals proposed mobile phone 'tax'

New Zealand messaging company Aangel has again spoken out strongly against proposed legislation to ban just the use of mobile phone whilst driving.

"The proposal to fine drivers who use their mobile phones in cars is simply a new tax" Says entrepreneur William Cass from Aangel messaging in Wellington.
"We'd have to ban everything else that creates distraction too, including sat-nav systems, climate control systems and eating" Cass says. Aangel is a phone based reminder service used by thousands of New Zealanders which relies on people making calls to 808.

"Mobile phone use is just one of dozens of things which may lead to driver distraction and driver distraction is just a sub set of accident causes. " he says and labels the proposed ban as farcical and missing the main issue leading to road smashes, poor road design.
Cass points to Centennial highway just north of Wellington. Dozens of deaths every year, all head on, and everyone preventable, he claims. As soon as Transit put in place the median barrier and cleaned up the lines there have been no fatalities.
"Then incredulously Transit got an award for the project. They should hang their heads in shame as this could have been done years earlier and yet today, just a few hundred meters up the road after the barrier finishes, the deaths continue".

Cass is calling for a referendum to force the government to adopt an aggressive median barrier construction policy.
"New Zealanders should demand an aggressive policy to get this problem sorted. Put in the median barriers and remove the deadly objects located just inches from the road edge, install sand traps and address this properly once and for all, or the carnage will just continue, year after year, killing hundreds more people. The idea this law will have even a slight impact on the road smash death rate for 2010 is delusional."

*quote*

Of the 25% of crashes attributed to driver distraction, the specific sources of distraction were:

Specific Distraction % of Drivers
Outside person, object or event 29.4
Adjusting radio, cassette, CD 11.4
Other occupant in vehicle 10.9
Moving object in vehicle 4.3
Other device/object brought into vehicle 2.9
Adjusting vehicle/climate controls 2.8
Eating or drinking 1.7
Using/dialing cell phone 1.5
Smoking related 0.9
Other distraction 25.6
Unknown distraction 8.6

(Source Stutts et al, 2001)

*end quote*

Cass says as a nation we should forget about trying to legislate to prevent crashes, we should actually do something about it. He says improved road design combined with driver education are the only way to tackle the problem.
"People will always get distracted. As long as you cars heading towards each other at a combined rate of 200kms per hour with just bit of paint to keep them apart, then fatal accidents will continue. Just the cost of pushing this scandalous legislation through parliament, and then enforcing it would probably pay to fix another 500kms of roads, which would actually save lives"

Ends

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