The ADAC, the German automobile club, has published a study revealing that 3 out of 100 car drivers and 1.4 out of 100 cyclists or e-scooter users use their mobile phones while moving. The data, collected in five cities, aims to warn about an increased risk of accidents. However, the entity's real interest seems to be pushing for more fines and controls, diverting attention from the fact that car drivers cause the most serious accidents when using the phone.
Biased observations: measurement technology fails where it is most needed 📊
The ADAC study was conducted at times and locations where drivers know there are checks, which likely reduces the actual figure of mobile phone use among motorists, which could be much higher than 3%. In contrast, cyclists and e-scooter users, being slower and more maneuverable vehicles, use the phone more frequently than reported, but their risk to others is lower. The omission of these technical details reveals a bias: prioritizing punishing the vulnerable while minimizing the real danger of cars.
The big scam: blaming the cyclist while the car driver texts 🚗💥
The average citizen reads the headline and shouts: Go after the cyclists!, while the SUV driver of the moment replies to a WhatsApp at 80 km/h. The ADAC, with its study, achieves the impossible: making us ask for more bike radars and fewer safe bike lanes. In the end, repeat offenders behind the wheel remain unpunished, and we, distracted by someone else's phone, forget that the real danger is not the one going slower, but the one going faster without looking at the road.