Well, it seems that texting while driving is such an antisocial thing to do that even your own team will call you out on it. Liverpool player Mohamed Salah was recently reported by his Liverpool team management for doing such a thing. How embarrassing.
It also earned him a R3600 fine which, in his case, is just far too little. Six points were docked off his licence by the UK system.
Here’s what South African law says about using your phone while behind the wheel.
First off, it’s illegal. Motorists doing so can be fined up to R750, but in the Western Cape there is a by-law stating officials can confiscate your phone, right there and then, for up to 24 hours. This is in addition to a R500 fine and a release fee of over R1000.
Even a quick text at a red light qualifies for a fine, after all, if you’re in the driver’s seat with the engine running, you’re driving. More worrying is research in the International Transport Forum’s 2013 annual road safety report found around 25 percent of road crashes in South Africa were caused by cellphone usage behind the wheel. It also cites distractions as being among the leading causes of vehicle accidents among young people.
It’s kind of obvious, you cannot pilot a car if your eyes are not on the road, and your head is not in the game. Lives are lost that way. Like you may have seen on highway billboards, “it can wait”.