Websites such as Qoo10 sell many brands of phone mounts for cars.
Car mounts make it legal for motorists to use their smartphones while driving.
You might even think that using your device while it is on a car mount is also safer than holding it in your hand.
But something that is legal doesn’t also make it safe.
Here are three reasons why smartphones on car mounts are still a bad idea.
1) YOUR SMARTPHONE IS YOUR BIGGEST DISTRACTION!
Your smartphone does a lot for you.
It takes photos, lets you send e-mails, surf the web, update your social media and play games.
Getting phone calls, and alerts for messages and e-mails while driving is a big distraction.
We already encounter too many distractions on the road – from reckless/inattentive drivers, jaywalkers and PMD users.
Surely we can do without another one, in the car no less.
2) TALKING WHILE DRIVING – EVEN HANDSFREE – IS STILL UNSAFE.
Many drivers think that as long as they use their phone’s handsfree function to make and answer calls, they are being safe.
That may be true – if they were the only road users around.
Fact is, when we carry on a conversation, we are using part of our brains to concentrate on the dialogue.
As drivers, we should really be concentrating more on the road.
Doesn’t matter if you use car mounts. The less you concentrate, the greater the risk of an accident.
3) DASHBOARD- AND WINDSCREEN-MOUNTED PHONES REDUCE VISIBILITY
If you think that your car’s blind spots are only at the rear, you are dead wrong.
There are also forward blind spots that make it tricky for us to see cross-traffic, especially when turning from a T-junction.
Having devices that block your forward and lateral views worsens this.
This worsens if you have more than one car mount.
Mounting your smartphone on an air-con vent might seem like a better option.
But we would argue that having yet another thing to look at (apart from your infotainment) increases the risk of a mishap.
A driver’s eyes should always be on the road and scanning his or her surroundings.
Remember, car mounts are legal, but they do not make using your smartphone while driving safe.
