As many as 0.9 million road accidents have occurred due to usage of cell phones while driving in last 15 years in the country.

As many as 0.9 million road accidents have occurred due to usage of cell phones while driving in last 15 years in the country. It was discussed at a seminar on defensive driving arranged by the Academic Staff Association (ASA), University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) in collaboration with the National Highway and Motorway Police (NHMP) at New Senate Hall other day . The session was chaired by UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Zafar while Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kamran Adil was the guest of honor. ASA President Dr Amir Jamil, DSP Syed Naseem Abbas, DSP Qalab Sipra, Senior Patrolling Officer (SPO) Rana Irfan Ahmad and ASA General Secretary Dr Amir Maqsood also spoke on the occasion. Dr Muhammad Iqbal Zafar said that over-speeding, violation of traffic rules, rash driving, and mobile phone usage while driving were the main reasons taking lives of many people. He said that many people are unaware about traffic rules that is the deteriorating the road traffic situation. He added that there is a need to educate the people about the importance of the traffic rules to lower down road accidents. Kamran Adil said that steps are afoot to make the traffic rules a part of curriculum. He urged the people to follow the traffic signals, proper lanes and wearing helmets for motorists. He said that they were taking many measures to sensitize the public about traffic rules and making smooth functioning of traffic. Dr Amir Jamil said that the people least bother to get knowledge of traffic that is aggravating the problems. He said that we must get skilled in measurers to tackle the emergency situation. He added that one must keep the appropriate distance from next vehicle so that in case of emergency, it can be controlled. SPO Rana Irfan said that one must fasten belt during driving. He added that mobile phone usage were responsible for 120 millions accidents in the last two decades across the globe. He added that talking on the phone or eating, make a driver less able to react to the situation and drive actively. He added that if someone feels sleepy, he must take nap for 15 minutes at least while parking his car. It will able him to drive the car two to three hours more in the long route. Dr Amir Maqsood a distraction is any activity that diverts your attention from the task of driving. It deserves your full attention and so stay focused on driving task. He said that being alert allows driver to react quickly wisely to potential problems.