‘Quarter of crashes’ caused by distraction, says FIA Region 2

FIA Region 2 has warned that a driver only has to be distracted for two seconds to cause a crash. The FIA’s data suggests that to 25% of road crashes are due to distraction, with up to 30% of total driving time spent on distracting activities. Commissioner Violetta Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport, recently warned against distraction caused by using mobile phones. She said: “Distraction from mobile devices has become one of the top crash factors. Reports show it has even overtaken speed and alc
September 13, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
FIA Region 2 has warned that a driver only has to be distracted for two seconds to cause a crash. The FIA’s data suggests that to 25% of road crashes are due to distraction, with up to 30% of total driving time spent on distracting activities.


Commissioner Violetta Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport, recently warned against distraction caused by using mobile phones. She said: “Distraction from mobile devices has become one of the top crash factors. Reports show it has even overtaken speed and alcohol as the highest risk factors.”

She has welcomed the FIA Region’s 2seconds campaign in raising awareness of the risk of distraction among road users.

“Technology can help, and the EU is making sure that everyone benefits from it: making driver drowsiness and distraction warning systems mandatory for all cars in its new vehicle safety legislation,” she adds.

However, she emphasises the importance of making road users aware of “even short spans of inattention” as technology can “only be an assistance to drivers”.

“To achieve zero road deaths by 2050 in the EU, we need to do everything we can – together,” she concludes.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Dutch road safety ‘getting worse’ says expert
    October 7, 2019
    Roads in the Netherlands have become more dangerous over the last decade, according to one of the country’s leading road safety experts.
    Read More
  • ITS America, Global Automakers respond to NHTSA's connected car ANPRM
    August 19, 2014
    ITS America and international motor vehicle manufacturers’ representative the Association of Global Automakers (Global Automakers) have responded to the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) and a supporting comprehensive research report on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications technology. The report will include analysis of the Department's research findings in several key areas including technical
    Read More
  • IBT goes roundabout in Bradenton, Florida
    May 10, 2019
    Yet another roundabout is being built in the US. The public remains sceptical but agencies and contractors are on board, writes David Arminas Global construction company IBT, based in Miami, has won a contract to install a traffic circle – or roundabout - on State Road 64 near Bradenton, Florida. The deal is part of a road improvement project with the Florida Department of Transportation (DoT). The 13-month project started in November. Worth only $5 million, it is not a big infrastructure contract. But
    Read More
  • Cross border enforcement a logical step
    January 30, 2012
    The logic supporting a cross-border enforcement Directive for the European Union (EU) is both detailed and compelling. The White Paper on European transport policy published in 2001 included the ambitious objective of reducing by 50 per cent by 2010 the number of people killed on the roads of the EU. But since 2005 the reduction in the number of road deaths has been slowing down: overall, the period from 2001 until 2009 saw the number of fatalities decrease by 36 per cent. According to Community indicators,
    Read More

Highlighted Content