Few Swiss consider talking on the phone while driving dangerous

Keystone / Helmut Fohringer

A survey found only five percent of the Swiss population consider making hands-free phone calls while driving to be very dangerous. And only 69% say they never get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.

The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU) examined the danger assessment of the population with certain behaviors in traffic. It presented its findings on Tuesday. Generally it showed up that with an estimated high risk also the appropriate behavior accompanies.

Thus 95% of the drivers consider drugs at the wheel dangerous. Correspondingly, only one percent say they occasionally drive after smoking a joint.

When it comes to talking on the phone at the wheel, a majority takes a more relaxed view. 73% use hands-free phones at least occasionally. Only five percent see this as a danger. Although permitted, the BFU warns that using a hands-free phone increases the risk of an accident.

+ Brain overload and faulty judgment cause most road accidents

When it comes to bicycles or electric bikes, the view is even more relaxed: only one in two say they have never swung on a steel bike after two or three glasses. And only three quarters thought it was dangerous

In addition, the BFU asked about the level of knowledge of the population about drowning of small children. Children under the age of four usually drown silently. However, four out of five parents or caregivers of children in this age group assumed that toddlers fidget or scream. Eight percent of men and 22% of women knew about silent drowning.

A sample of 1,619 people aged 15 to 74 stratified by age and language participated in the BFU survey on traffic. 1601 people provided information on the topic of household and sports.

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