A taboo it should be

According to the Central Traffic Department, motorists who use cellular phones while driving are the reason for up to 70 per cent of minor car accidents, a staggering figure that should surely prompt all concerned to do something about it.

Whether to make or receive calls, or, much worse, to text, motorists who use their cell phones should be seriously penalised, minor accidents or not. And they are often not that minor.

These people show, after all, total disregard for the life and discomfort of fellow citizens.

The fine for being caught driving while using the phone is a meagre JD15, a joke, really, knowing what a serious impact the habit can have on lives and property.

This amount cannot be an effective deterrent, and the act is especially difficult to monitor and prove, with the traffic officers having to rely on the confession of the driver.

Bluetooth and hand free devices should also be made illegal, knowing that, according to specialised studies, motorists lose focus even when resorting to these means to talk while driving.

Yes, cellular phones are playing a central role in our lives and are becoming indispensable.

But so is life, and nothing, not even the best or worst news, should warrant talking on the phone while driving.

Besides, in any city in Jordan, even in Amman, the longest trip takes maximum one hour; any news can wait for this long.

An absolute emergency — like a car accident or a life-threatening, sudden health issue — could be the exception, but nothing else.

As is the traffic situation is appalling. Having drivers talk while driving, no doubt in most cases for the most trivial reasons, and forgetting about themselves, slowing down traffic, changing lanes without warning, owning the street because they are “busy” talking only makes things worse.

Other nations, developed and with respect for time, forbade citizens from talking on the phone while driving, and they comply. Or, in case of recalcitrant ones, they pay a hefty amount that makes them think twice a second time they feel tempted.

Why cannot Jordan do the same?

If all it takes is make penalties painful, so be it. Eventually, as with all things imposed by law, people get used to not using the phone while driving, and we all stand to gain from it.