FUNDA GUMUSH - "It wasn’t My Fault Officer, it was My Selfie!" [OPINION]

Every time I pick up a Turkish Cypriot newspaper, I can’t help but stare at the pictures of the traffic accidents which blight our roads every day. Cars smashed to resemble accordions, headlines screaming of injuries and fatalities, pictures of families in tears at the loss of loved ones…

We live on island of less than one million people. Yet in the last three years, 90 people have died in road traffic accidents in the north – an average of one fatality every 12 days. More disturbing than this are the number of accidents during the same period; 11,781 accidents have occurred in the last three years, which averages to over 10 accidents a day.

I recently read a report that in the south every hour around two motorists are caught using a mobile phone whilst driving and it makes me wonder whether or not people are aware of the dangers when doing things like this. Most of us are guilty of talking on the phone whilst driving at one time or another.

But to me the most striking part of a survey carried out at a private university, is that 14% of respondents confessed to taking a selfie or a video whilst driving. A selfie? Seriously??

How can one take a photograph of themselves and have both eyes on the road? I’m imagining holding the steering wheel with one hand and the phone in another and it sounds pretty hard. I wonder if I would be holding that Kardashian-style pout when I crash into the car in front!

What I can’t comprehend is why anyone would want to take a picture or a video of themselves when their vehicle is moving. Is it to show how cool they look or show off their driving skills? I can bet they won’t be looking so cool when they wrap the car around the next tree. If you want a self-portrait in the car, take it when the vehicle is stationary… No one will know the difference, I promise!

Another major issue, which I think needs to be addressed, is that of people driving their cars or riding their mopeds with children in their laps. As if it is not bad enough that they are illegally carrying children in the front seat or sitting them on their laps, they are doing it without the necessary safety measures.

Small children may think this to be fun; pretend driving, believing they are the ones operating the car, because they don’t know better. But surely their parents are aware and know that in the case of emergency, that child will fly through the windscreen! I apologise for the graphic description, but it makes my blood boil when I see recklessness at its very worst.

In my opinion, in order to overcome the irresponsibility of driving nowadays, people should be made to take driving tests every five years. It would help to reduce the number of accidents and earn the state money so that they can reinvest it into improving road safety as well. Maybe one to think about…

*Originally written by FUNDA GUMUSH for In-Cyprus Newspaper