Using a Phone While Driving... The Enemy of Attention!

- 94,945 violations for using a mobile phone while driving recorded between April and August of last year

- A total of 1,118,668 various traffic violations registered during the same period

- Khaled Al-Mahendy: A few seconds of distraction caused by phone use can be enough to cause an accident

- Colonel Fahad Al-Eissa: With the implementation of the new traffic law, accidents decreased by 45% and resulting fatalities dropped by 34%

Using a mobile phone while driving constitutes the most significant traffic problem, potentially leading to tragic accidents. A parent may pay a heavy price for dropping off their children at school in just one minute or less, during which their attention is diverted from the road.

Whether making calls, sending messages, or browsing social media, just a few seconds spent on “WhatsApp” can turn a fleeting moment into an accident. Distracted driving due to phone use is not merely a traffic violation; it is a behavior that increases risk levels for the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and all other road users.

Recent statistics obtained by Al-Rai regarding total traffic violations over a five-month period, from April to August of last year, show that the number of violations reached 1,118,668. Among these, 94,945 were for using a handheld mobile phone while driving during the same period.

In this context, Colonel Fahad Al-Eissa, Director of the Traffic Awareness Department at the General Directorate of Traffic, revealed that official statistics indicate positive trends following the implementation of amendments to the Traffic Law, which include harsher penalties for certain violations. The first half of 2025 saw a 45% decrease in traffic accidents and a 34% reduction in related fatalities compared to the first half of 2024. Additionally, violations for speeding and running red lights showed a noticeable decline in the period following the law’s implementation.

He clarified that the objective extends beyond merely penalizing violations; it aims to raise drivers’ awareness of traffic laws, regulations, and proper driving behavior, thereby helping them avoid violations and accidents, and ensuring their safety and that of other road users.

Al-Eissa noted that behaviors receiving greater attention in awareness campaigns include actions that some drivers may consider minor or routine, but which can actually lead to violations, accidents, or disruptions in traffic flow.

Colonel Al-Eissa highlighted several key problematic behaviors, including parking in prohibited areas, failing to use turn signals when turning or changing lanes, improper overtaking, failing to advance to ground markings, stopping within yellow boxes or on pedestrian crossings, cutting across multiple lanes to reach an exit, stopping in the second lane or blocking vehicle entrances and exits, using a mobile phone while driving, and using the road shoulder to bypass congestion.

He stated that the current phase of traffic awareness focuses on correcting these daily behaviors and reinforcing an important concept among drivers: traffic compliance is not just about avoiding violations, but is a daily habit that protects lives and contributes to making roads safer and more fluid.

He emphasized that “traffic awareness cannot achieve its goals in isolation from the law, nor is a deterrent law alone sufficient to ensure traffic safety without supporting societal awareness and a security and traffic system capable of enforcing it.” He added, “From this perspective, the development of the traffic system in the State of Kuwait has been based on the integration of three main pillars: traffic awareness, deterrent legislation, and field enforcement and monitoring.”

For his part, psychological consultant Dr. Khaled Al-Mahindi stated that “dropping children off at school is a daily responsibility that begins before reaching the road,” noting that “a child’s safety depends not only on the vehicle or the road, but also on the driver’s attentiveness and adherence to traffic rules.” Al-Mahindi told Al-Rai that “one of the most important messages that should be emphasized is the prohibition of using mobile phones while driving, whether for calls, text messages, or browsing social media,” adding that just a few seconds of distraction can be enough to cause an accident.

He stressed the necessity for parents to serve as traffic role models for their children, emphasizing that children learn more from their parents’ behavior than from advice and guidance. He affirmed that when dropping children off at school, the goal should not be to arrive quickly, but to arrive safely, with full attention to the road and strict compliance with speed limits. He said that parents should always remember that a few minutes of delay are far better than an irreparable moment of regret.

Colonel Fahd Al-Eissa stated that the Ministry of Interior, represented by the Traffic Awareness Department, focuses on building a new generation of vehicle drivers who possess traffic culture from the very beginning of their driving journey. This is achieved through conducting tours and awareness programs in public and private secondary schools and universities in the State of Kuwait, with special emphasis on students and new license holders.

These programs aim to instill traffic culture at an early stage, introduce new drivers to the laws, regulations, and correct behaviors while driving, and emphasize that obtaining a driver’s license does not merely mean having the ability to operate a vehicle, but also entails the responsibility of safeguarding the safety of oneself and others.

Al-Eissa revealed continuous coordination with the Ministry of Education in the field of traffic awareness, through organizing lectures, visits, and field programs for various educational stages and groups, with special focus on secondary school students, given that this stage precedes many students’ acquisition of driver’s licenses.

He confirmed that traffic awareness is offered as an elective subject for students, helping to familiarize them with traffic rules and regulations and reinforce correct behaviors before they actually enter the driving system on the roads.

Al-Eissa clarified that the goal of traffic awareness does not begin with obtaining a driver’s license, but rather starts years earlier by building traffic culture in students from a young age, so that they transition from being recipients of awareness to becoming conscious drivers who understand their responsibilities toward themselves and others.

He explained: “We do not want a driver’s relationship with the law to begin through violations and penalties; rather, we want it to begin with awareness, knowledge, and compliance, so that correct traffic behavior becomes a firmly established habit from the very first day of driving.”