No statistics on mobile-related traffic incidents

No local statistics exist on how mobile phone use contributes to traffic accidents, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) has said in a written reply to a Times inquiry.

“There are no statistics on traffic incidents directly or indirectly caused by the use of mobile phones,” the PSP said.

“The cause of traffic incidents is mainly attributable to improper operation of vehicles by motorists (e.g. failure to control vehicle speed, careless steering, etc.).”

The PSP noted that police officers will prosecute those involved in traffic accidents after the cause of the accident has been identified and verified.

The local police said the number of prosecutions against motorists for using mobile phones while driving was 1,585 cases in 2022 (132.1 cases per month) and that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 this year, the total is 1,328 cases or 147.6 cases per month.

According to several studies published worldwide, the probability of being involved in a traffic accident is four times higher if the driver is using a mobile phone.

The same studies concluded that reaction times are two times slower if a person is texting and driving while using a hands-free phone than if they are drinking and driving, with this factor increasing to three times where drivers are using handheld phones.

It is very common to see Macau people using mobile phones while driving – and even while riding a motorcycle – with many listening to and recording audio messages.

This is also often the case with food delivery riders as well as taxi drivers.

More bus driver

prosecutions

The number of bus driver prosecutions has increased this year, the PSP has said in response to an inquiry from the Times.

The PSP said that compared to 2022, prosecutions of bus drivers have grown from 263 to 347 (+31.9%) in the first nine months of the year.

The same figures also show that from January to September 2023, the number of cases recorded by the PSP (347) has almost reached the 2022 total of 365 prosecutions.

The same force said there is no detailed data about why bus drivers have been prosecuted. There is also no detailed data on the buses being stopped for police inspection nor on cases of overcrowding on buses, which the Times has reported on previously.