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Abu Dhabi Traffic Accidents Dropped 40% During the BlackBerry Outage

151 points by obeattie 15y ago

hsuresh 15y ago
correlation != causation
culebron 15y ago
As Paul Graham noticed earlier, computers became something like TV on the working desktop, smartphones are even a more danger. I hope in my lifetime I'll see something new to displace smartphones/tablets and make them look old like TV now, and be less dangerous and less addictive.
- todsul 15y ago
  Isn't this a product of long commutes and sedentary living? There are only three times when I feel compelled to use my smartphone: * When in a train/bus/car * When I need directions * When I feel like a game of chess Further to this, my smartphone is also useful for: * It's alarm clock * Looking up facts over discussions away from home/office I noticed my need for a smartphone dropped dramatically when I stopped commuting. I don't have push email (on purpose) and so I don't check email every time it beeps. After a month of this, I lost the automatic urge to check email. I would do without a smartphone except for the maps function. I could buy a dedicated GPS, but the additional features, having web access anywhere, chess (trivial), alarm, push the smartphone ahead. Get rid of your car, don't live in a sprawling city, walk places: problem solved.
- iaskwhy 15y ago
  Can you imagine something as popular but less addictive? I wish I could...
  - culebron 15y ago
    No I can't :) But some societies have quit drinking hard or smoking, so getting off a widely accepted addiction is possible.
    - iaskwhy 15y ago
      And that happened because those things have some very visible bad effects (images of cancer all over packages in Europe) and even then there are like 30% smokers on my country. Assuming shock and visible pain are the only way to end such a popular addiction it's going to be tough to end our digital ones. But at least you showed it's possible, that's something!
      - ern 15y ago
        Smartpones can already detect that you are travelling above a certain speed on a public road and display a notification that texting while driving is dangerous. Not something I would endorse (too many false positives), but I wouldn't be surprised to see it, either as a result of a law, or as a voluntary "enhancement".
- bonzoesc 15y ago
  I'd much rather see something new to make driver-operated motor vehicles seem old and impractical. Smartphone usage by a passenger on a bus or train doesn't pose a constant lethal threat to everyone on the road, merely a threat of inconveniencing the user when they miss their stop.
nostromo 15y ago
Not to be overly suspicious, but it may be a hyped-up or cherry-picked statistic. The two sources in the article are the Chief of Dubai Police, and the director of the Abu Dhabi Police traffic department, who didn't give any further details; the paper itself is state run. "Two weeks ago, Abu Dhabi Police announced a campaign against motorists who use their phones while at the wheel." ... "Gen Tamim likewise warned that Dubai Police will soon be using electronic evidence against drivers who cause accidents while using their smart devices." ... "The precise statistics for traffic accidents in the two emirates this week were not revealed to The National."
- fletchowns 15y ago
  Cities compile detailed statistics based on every reported traffic incident, I honestly wouldn't expect anybody else to have numbers as accurate as theirs for something like this.
- praptak 15y ago
  My thoughts exactly. What is the normal variance of per-day numbers of accidents in both cities? The story shares a lot with the alleged Blackout Baby Boom, which turned out to be utter bollocks: http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/blackout.asp http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/blackout.asp
- salem 15y ago
  If it is actually true, if they don't open up the data, then it's a wasted opportunity to put a solid case forward and change the culture.
screwt 15y ago
Possibly interesting, but without data I'm thinking more likely to be chance / propaganda.
thepointyhat 15y ago
That genuinely probably is true and is not a cherry picked statistic. I reckon it's due to the highway drifters, who are reckless idiots. They are probably using their blackberries to organise drifting events which inevitably result in accidents. Here's to give you an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTlKaliW90 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTlKaliW90
ck2 15y ago
As a person who has never texted (seriously) I've started to notice an alarming number of people holding and looking at their phones while they drive in my town. Makes me afraid to use the bicycle lane anymore. I sure hope police/insurance companies are looking at cellphone records after accidents to fine people appropriately for this kind of behavior.
- brador 15y ago
  Aside...but, why do you ride a bike on road? Yes, there are health benifits from the exercise and joy of riding a bike, but the negatives are pollution/lung issues and reasonably high likelihood of injury or death compared to other forms of transport. As the risk of injury/death rises along with driver carelessness, is there a point at which you would reduce or stop your on road bike usage?
  - ck2 15y ago
    To get from point A to B? Gas is nearly $4 a gallon. My town has bike lanes, why shouldn't I be able to use them? Unfortunately they are not the kind of bike lanes with the "wake up" bump strip between the car and bike. I also walk on sidewalks instead of a treadmill in a gym. Seems more practical and purposeful to me. If using a cellphone while driving is proven to be almost as bad as being drunk - why isn't it as illegal nationwide?
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - brador 15y ago
      So technically, you value your life at $4 per (distance a gallon gets you) less cost of bike mainenance over that distance?
      - dangrossman 15y ago
        That would be the value of his life if the expected chance of death while biking were 100%.
xradionut 15y ago
This weekend I narrowly avoided accidents on multiple occasions with drivers that were more than deeply occupied in their smartphones. One driver blocked a major intersection against the light while another destroyed several cones in a road construction zone. Maybe the problem was worse than normal due to the release of a new popular model?
abalashov 15y ago
Could it be that the outage failed to summon a certain non-trivial amount of people to venture out in their cars (for meetings, dinners, etc.), reducing the overall number of cars on the road to begin with?
ChrisLTD 15y ago
Over the past couple of years I've noticed that when I pass someone driving erratically or abnormally slow, they are more often than not futzing with their phone (texting or talking). This is the kind of driving that ten years ago I would have attributed to drunkenness. It's a serious factor in my desire to move somewhere where I don't need a car to get around.
- dquigley 15y ago
  But when you live in the city like I do, just crossing the street can be made dangerous by these same people. [EDIT] Plus people walking and texting in the city can be just as bad when driving in Chicago when they walk out into an intersection without looking.
  - mikeash 15y ago
    People who walk and text very rarely injure or kill other people, though. I don't really mind people being a menace to themselves, but I very much mind people being a menace to me and people I care about.
    - ori_b 15y ago
      I don't know about you, but I try to swerve and avoid pedestrians if they walk out into the street. That can lead to me hitting other vehicles, losing control of the car, and all sorts of other badness. Maybe I should just plough through them, and then sue for damage to my car.
      - mikeash 15y ago
        I'd suggest braking rather than swerving. Don't know how much better that would be. In any case, you're right, it's possible for them to pose a danger, but it's still much less than that posed by drivers.
      - 7952 15y ago
        That might make sense if cars were not designed like armour. Kill the pedestrian or scratch your car?
zerostar07 15y ago
That's remarkable, given that the roads in that country are not nearly bad. The question one should ask though is what can technology do to fix that public safety hazard?
sandieman 15y ago
This is why google needs to start driving our cars for us already.
mhb 15y ago
More detail (original article?): http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/blackberry-cuts-made-roads-safer-police-say?pageCount=0 http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/blackberry-cuts-made...
dhughes 15y ago
In my sleepy little town at any red light when traffic stops for the light (I hope!) it's as if someone said "Let us pray." and all the drivers bow their heads.
ineedtosleep 15y ago
Having visited Abu Dhabi for a little more than a month, I don't find this too surprising. A lot of the drivers there are insane and coupled with a cell phone, they're killing machines.

151 points by obeattie 15y ago

correlation != causation

As Paul Graham noticed earlier, computers became something like TV on the working desktop, smartphones are even a more danger. I hope in my lifetime I'll see something new to displace smartphones/tablets and make them look old like TV now, and be less dangerous and less addictive.

todsul 15y ago
Isn't this a product of long commutes and sedentary living? There are only three times when I feel compelled to use my smartphone: * When in a train/bus/car * When I need directions * When I feel like a game of chess Further to this, my smartphone is also useful for: * It's alarm clock * Looking up facts over discussions away from home/office I noticed my need for a smartphone dropped dramatically when I stopped commuting. I don't have push email (on purpose) and so I don't check email every time it beeps. After a month of this, I lost the automatic urge to check email. I would do without a smartphone except for the maps function. I could buy a dedicated GPS, but the additional features, having web access anywhere, chess (trivial), alarm, push the smartphone ahead. Get rid of your car, don't live in a sprawling city, walk places: problem solved.
iaskwhy 15y ago
Can you imagine something as popular but less addictive? I wish I could...
- culebron 15y ago
  No I can't :) But some societies have quit drinking hard or smoking, so getting off a widely accepted addiction is possible.
  - iaskwhy 15y ago
    And that happened because those things have some very visible bad effects (images of cancer all over packages in Europe) and even then there are like 30% smokers on my country. Assuming shock and visible pain are the only way to end such a popular addiction it's going to be tough to end our digital ones. But at least you showed it's possible, that's something!
    - ern 15y ago
      Smartpones can already detect that you are travelling above a certain speed on a public road and display a notification that texting while driving is dangerous. Not something I would endorse (too many false positives), but I wouldn't be surprised to see it, either as a result of a law, or as a voluntary "enhancement".
bonzoesc 15y ago
I'd much rather see something new to make driver-operated motor vehicles seem old and impractical. Smartphone usage by a passenger on a bus or train doesn't pose a constant lethal threat to everyone on the road, merely a threat of inconveniencing the user when they miss their stop.

nostromo 15y ago

Not to be overly suspicious, but it may be a hyped-up or cherry-picked statistic. The two sources in the article are the Chief of Dubai Police, and the director of the Abu Dhabi Police traffic department, who didn't give any further details; the paper itself is state run. "Two weeks ago, Abu Dhabi Police announced a campaign against motorists who use their phones while at the wheel." ... "Gen Tamim likewise warned that Dubai Police will soon be using electronic evidence against drivers who cause accidents while using their smart devices." ... "The precise statistics for traffic accidents in the two emirates this week were not revealed to The National."

fletchowns 15y ago
Cities compile detailed statistics based on every reported traffic incident, I honestly wouldn't expect anybody else to have numbers as accurate as theirs for something like this.
praptak 15y ago
My thoughts exactly. What is the normal variance of per-day numbers of accidents in both cities? The story shares a lot with the alleged Blackout Baby Boom, which turned out to be utter bollocks: http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/blackout.asp http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/blackout.asp
salem 15y ago
If it is actually true, if they don't open up the data, then it's a wasted opportunity to put a solid case forward and change the culture.

screwt 15y ago

Possibly interesting, but without data I'm thinking more likely to be chance / propaganda.

thepointyhat 15y ago

That genuinely probably is true and is not a cherry picked statistic. I reckon it's due to the highway drifters, who are reckless idiots. They are probably using their blackberries to organise drifting events which inevitably result in accidents. Here's to give you an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTlKaliW90 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTlKaliW90

ck2 15y ago

As a person who has never texted (seriously) I've started to notice an alarming number of people holding and looking at their phones while they drive in my town. Makes me afraid to use the bicycle lane anymore. I sure hope police/insurance companies are looking at cellphone records after accidents to fine people appropriately for this kind of behavior.

brador 15y ago
Aside...but, why do you ride a bike on road? Yes, there are health benifits from the exercise and joy of riding a bike, but the negatives are pollution/lung issues and reasonably high likelihood of injury or death compared to other forms of transport. As the risk of injury/death rises along with driver carelessness, is there a point at which you would reduce or stop your on road bike usage?
- ck2 15y ago
  To get from point A to B? Gas is nearly $4 a gallon. My town has bike lanes, why shouldn't I be able to use them? Unfortunately they are not the kind of bike lanes with the "wake up" bump strip between the car and bike. I also walk on sidewalks instead of a treadmill in a gym. Seems more practical and purposeful to me. If using a cellphone while driving is proven to be almost as bad as being drunk - why isn't it as illegal nationwide?
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - brador 15y ago
    So technically, you value your life at $4 per (distance a gallon gets you) less cost of bike mainenance over that distance?
    - dangrossman 15y ago
      That would be the value of his life if the expected chance of death while biking were 100%.

xradionut 15y ago

This weekend I narrowly avoided accidents on multiple occasions with drivers that were more than deeply occupied in their smartphones. One driver blocked a major intersection against the light while another destroyed several cones in a road construction zone. Maybe the problem was worse than normal due to the release of a new popular model?

abalashov 15y ago

Could it be that the outage failed to summon a certain non-trivial amount of people to venture out in their cars (for meetings, dinners, etc.), reducing the overall number of cars on the road to begin with?

ChrisLTD 15y ago

Over the past couple of years I've noticed that when I pass someone driving erratically or abnormally slow, they are more often than not futzing with their phone (texting or talking). This is the kind of driving that ten years ago I would have attributed to drunkenness. It's a serious factor in my desire to move somewhere where I don't need a car to get around.

dquigley 15y ago
But when you live in the city like I do, just crossing the street can be made dangerous by these same people. [EDIT] Plus people walking and texting in the city can be just as bad when driving in Chicago when they walk out into an intersection without looking.
- mikeash 15y ago
  People who walk and text very rarely injure or kill other people, though. I don't really mind people being a menace to themselves, but I very much mind people being a menace to me and people I care about.
  - ori_b 15y ago
    I don't know about you, but I try to swerve and avoid pedestrians if they walk out into the street. That can lead to me hitting other vehicles, losing control of the car, and all sorts of other badness. Maybe I should just plough through them, and then sue for damage to my car.
    - mikeash 15y ago
      I'd suggest braking rather than swerving. Don't know how much better that would be. In any case, you're right, it's possible for them to pose a danger, but it's still much less than that posed by drivers.
    - 7952 15y ago
      That might make sense if cars were not designed like armour. Kill the pedestrian or scratch your car?

zerostar07 15y ago

That's remarkable, given that the roads in that country are not nearly bad. The question one should ask though is what can technology do to fix that public safety hazard?

sandieman 15y ago

This is why google needs to start driving our cars for us already.

mhb 15y ago

More detail (original article?): http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/blackberry-cuts-made-roads-safer-police-say?pageCount=0 http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/blackberry-cuts-made...

dhughes 15y ago

In my sleepy little town at any red light when traffic stops for the light (I hope!) it's as if someone said "Let us pray." and all the drivers bow their heads.

ineedtosleep 15y ago

Having visited Abu Dhabi for a little more than a month, I don't find this too surprising. A lot of the drivers there are insane and coupled with a cell phone, they're killing machines.