Uber, Lyft, Waze in the Crosshairs

Drivers throughout Europe generally and in the United Kingdom in particular understand that they should not, must not touch their smartphones when driving. But professional drivers increasingly find their lives ruled by smartphone apps creating a powerful temptation. As a result, these drivers flirt with disaster on a daily basis.

In the past week I have had rides from private cabs, a limousine service, a regular metered taxi and Uber. All of the drivers were dependent on their smartphones for acquiring fares, for payment, routing or communication with the customer or dispatcher.

Most of these drivers have their smartphones perched in a dash-mounted smartphone holder. It wasn't always this way but Uber and Lyft introduced the appification of transportation so now we are all looking down at our phones, including taxi drivers.

Even non-Uber and Lyft drivers have turned to their own apps and some drivers are running multiple apps on different phones in order to work for more than one taxi/limousine company at a time. It is all contributing to the proliferation of distracted driving.

Knowing the laws as I do I have been horrified to see taxi drivers reach forward and poke at the on-screen map to show me - sitting in the back seat - the distance to our destination. Or, the driver has disconnected his phone to hand it over his shoulder to me, while driving, for me to enter my destination in the navigation app. There are countless other scenarios where these drivers have put their good driving records at risk to accommodate the passenger's need.

Bloomberg News tells us that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is out to put an end to all of it - calling for the drafting of legislation to double penalties for drivers who violate the rules regarding smartphone use in cars. In the process she has proclaimed that using a mobile phone while driving is equivalent to driving drunk.

The penalties for mobile phone use while driving in the U.K. include six months in prison, an unlimited fine or a driving ban of at least one year.

Apps like Uber, Lyft, Waze and a long list of competing navigation and ride hailing apps are lulling drivers into a false sense of security when it comes to using the mobile phone to assist the driving activity. We are coming to depend on these apps, but we aren't doing enough to ensure their safe use in cars - or preventing their use altogether.

Police officers will tell you they see the fatal or near-fatal consequences of mobile phone use in cars on a daily basis. Penalties might help, but better education and more specific policy guidelines and requirements from taxi and ride hailing companies are necessary as well. Taxi drivers should never touch their smartphones when the vehicle is in motion, no matter how tempting it may be. Lives and licenses are at stake.

NOTE: The Waze app will prevent destination entry when the vehicle is in motion, unless the user indicates he or she is a passenger, not the driver.

Roger C. Lanctot is Associate Director in the Global Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics. More details about Strategy Analytics can be found here: https://www.strategyanalytics.com/access-services/automotive#.VuGdXfkrKUk