Analytical study to find the impacts of using a mobile phone on driver's inattentions while driving - A case study of Lahore.

The road traffic injuries are one of the leading cause of death in children and young adults according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The risk of a crash increases approximately four times for drivers using mobile phones during driving. This study investigates the importance of different factors affecting the driver's choice to use mobile phones for conversation during driving in Lahore, Pakistan. A questionnaire survey was conducted to check the tendency of mobile phone usage during driving from different locations of the city. Participants were asked to indicate frequency, risk, importance and emotionality of ten different conversations. A Structural Equation Model (SEM), similar to a previous study, conducted in Beijing, was developed for the frequency of calling and texting during driving with perceived risk of calling and texting, perceived importance and emotionality as predictors. The frequency of different conversations shows that perceived importance of the call mainly influences the driver's choice to make a call during driving in Lahore. The result of the model show that perceived risk has a significant negative effect on driver's decision to call or text in Lahore, similarly to Beijing. The results also indicates that drivers prefer calling on mobile phones in comparison to texting during driving in Lahore.