Skip to main content

‘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.

Related Content

  • ITS benefits escape public
    June 8, 2015
    John Kendall considers the public’s awareness of the benefits of ITS. While the results of developing ITS technology may be clear to readers of ITS International, there is far less evidence that drivers have any appreciation of what the technology is doing for them. So how aware are drivers of the developments that are designed to make their journeys less congested and safer?
  • Asfinag makes case for ITS-G5 over 5G
    March 15, 2019
    Asfinag’s Manfred Harrer and Peter Meckel talk to Jason Barnes about the organisation’s first steps towards C-ITS deployments - and why ITS-G5 will be the underpinning standard For quite a number of years, it was assumed that the connectivity required for cooperative ITS (C-ITS) applications and autonomous vehicle (AV) operations would be catered for by a bespoke communications solution/protocol. This would provide localised ad hoc communication in a manner similar to Wi-Fi, and the dedicated bandwidth/n
  • Hayden AI & Snapper Services keep their eyes on the road
    August 29, 2024
    Snapper Services CEO Miki Szikszai and Chris Carson, CEO of Hayden AI, tell Adam Hill about synergy and partnership – and how to make use of data once you’ve gathered it
  • CAA: Majority of Canadians believe texting while driving has got worse
    January 2, 2018
    83% of Canadians surveyed believe that texting while driving has got worse over the past three years and is also their number one concern alongside drink driving, according to the latest research from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In addition, 96% said that drivers who text are a threat to their personal safety on the road.