ALTHOUGH it may be a public safety abomination that the results of a study of the affect of cell phone use on driving safety in the US were withheld from the public for political reasons, that does not negate the clear-cut conclusions that can be drawn from the research. And since the conclusions are based on human behavior – not peculiarly American behavior – they should be carefully considered by Saudi authorities, as well. The research estimated that in 2002 in the US alone 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents were caused by cell phone use by drivers. More importantly, perhaps, the researchers concluded that hands-free use of cell phones is not a safety measure. The cell phone conversation itself, not just holding the phone, is enough to distract a driver's attention to a dangerous degree. There is no way to apply the numbers themselves to the Saudi situation as there is no way to make a sensible comparison between the US population of over 300 million and the Saudi population of some 23 million. But there is most definitely no difference between the innate abilities of American drivers and the innate ability of Saudi drivers to handle a cell phone conversation while navigating their automobiles. Likewise, there is no way to avoid the conclusion that cell phone conversations and texting should be banned while driving on the roads of the Kingdom. The automobile accident and fatality rates in the Kingdom are so outrageous as to be obscene. We drive on some of the least safe roads in the entire world and that has been the case before the ubiquity of cell phones. Drivers in the Kingdom have enough trouble keeping their cars under control and the additional diversion of a cell phone is hardly a healthy feature. Saudi authorities must get serious about cracking down on irresponsible driving habits and the use of cell phones while driving is of primary importance. Cell phone conversations are hardly so important that the lives of passengers and the occupants of other cars should be put at risk. Those who put us all in danger should face severe repercussions. __
