Rubbernecking, reaching for things and talking to passengers are some of the main distractions for drivers. South Africans are less focused on the road than their foreign counterparts and are distracted or inattentive while driving. Cellphones are the biggest culprit.A Council for Scientific and Industrial Research project monitored the behaviour of four drivers for six months by installing three cameras in their vehicles."The initial focus was to detect the difference between novice and experienced drivers, so we used two [drivers] from each category," said research leader Kobus Labuschagne."It is a small sample but we found that South African drivers are not observing what is going on around them. They forgot about the cameras after about a week, [whereas] overseas it takes drivers a month [to forget them]."Labuschagne said that, of all the causes of road accidents, driver behaviour was the biggest contributor at 80%.The research was funded by the Road Traffic Management Corporation. Corporation spokesman Simon Zwane said it was part of a wider safety initiative."Our main responsibility is to come up with strategies to reduce deaths and crashes," he said."In our analysis of road accidents we found that the human factor was the main contributing factor."The CSIR plans to expand the study to 10 vehicles. Labuschagne said the findings could lead to changes in road environments and driver behaviour.Driver-behaviour expert Eugene Herbert said distraction caused by cellphones could not be countered simply by using a hands-free device."[The problem is] that the brain has to cope with the two important tasks - driving and talking - at once," he said...