"Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone" Krystyna Czubówna and well-known cartoonists, including Andrzej Mleczko, meet in a social campaign for A4 Katowice-Kraków

Krystyna Czubówna and well-known cartoonists: Andrzej Mleczko, Marta Frej, Andrzej Rysuje, Magda Danaj - Porysunki and Janek Koza are part of the social campaign "Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone", which is organised by Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A., the administrator of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the dangers of using smartphones while driving.

In 2022, traffic police officers in the Silesia Province alone recorded as many as 5,500 offences related to using phones while driving. This is just under 500 fewer cases than in 2021, but the numbers are still too high.

"Any action that causes a lack of focus on the road is dangerous and poses a threat. If you are driving at 50 km/h, in the 1 second it takes to react, you've already travelled almost 14 metres, so even this moment of inattention to read a text message can lead to a tragedy," explains Staff Sergeant Damian Sokołowski, specialist of the Traffic Department of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Katowice.

Statistics and studies clearly show that using a phone while driving is still a big problem. As much as 57 per cent of drivers admit to using mobile phones on the move, and one in three believe they are good enough at multitasking to use their phone in the car safely. Meanwhile, even every fourth accident in Poland may be caused by a driver who is focused on their phone instead of the road (data from the Motor Transport Institute and the Kantar report for PZU "Phone use while driving", August 2019).

"For us, as the administrator of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway, the safety of users is a priority. Recognising the seriousness of the problem of using smartphones while driving, we decided to organise the 'Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone' campaign," says Rafał Czechowski, press spokesman for SAM S.A. "Driver inattention on an expressway carries a much greater risk of consequences for human health and life. Safe driving and active use of smartphones or other mobile devices are definitely mutually exclusive. When participating in traffic, you should keep your hands on the wheel," he adds.

The campaign "Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone" invited some well-known, well-liked and highly regarded people to participate in it: the voice of calm and reason Krystyna Czubówna, as well as cartoonists Andrzej Mleczko, Marta Frej, Andrzej Rysuje, Magda Danaj - Porysunki and Janek Koza, who use their distinctive styles of art to create illustrations encouraging people to leave aside their mobile phones while driving. They say the following on taking part in the "Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone" campaign:

"The struck me as important because it affects virtually all drivers, myself included. I'll be pleased if a driver remembers the punchline of my drawing when they want to rummage through their phone because something is 'urgent'. It's not a matter of life and death. Or rather, that's exactly what it is," says Andrzej Rysuje, satirical cartoonist.

"I'm taking part in the campaign because it is needed. Everyone one of us can make ourselves and others safer by not using our phones while driving. For me, this is what it means to enjoy life - to make sure it lasts as long as possible and to be mindful of others," explains Marta Frej, painter and illustrator.

"The safety of us all depends on each of us individually. I'm happy to take part in the 'Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone' campaign because the issue of responsible behaviour behind the wheel should be at the forefront of our minds. Let's not give the phone the power to steer us, we're the ones holding the wheel," urges illustrator Magda Danaj, author of Porysunki.

"Hold the Wheel and Not Your Phone" is a social campaign organised by Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A., administrator of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. The campaign - which covers radio, the Internet and social media - will last until the end of February.

You can listen to what Krystyna Czubówna has to say and see the campaign theme through the eyes of the cartoonists and illustrators at www.jazdabezczytanki.pl

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Information about SAM SA

Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. manages the 60-km section of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. This is the first fully operational road of this type in Poland, built as part of the public-private partnership, as a brownfield project  on the basis of the road constructed in the 1970s  and 1980s. Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. obtained a license for its adaptation to the requirements of the toll motorway and operation in 1997. It required numerous investments. All investment projects and current maintenance of road lanes are funded from revenues obtained from the collection of tolls for the concession section and loans received from the international banking consortium. Unlike other concessions for the management of toll motorways, the project implemented by Stalexport Autostrada S. A. does not burden the State Treasury with any obligations. Moreover, it has not received any grants or guarantees of the Treasury.

Additional information can be obtained from:

Rafał Czechowski
Spokesman of SAM S.A.
e-mail: SEND A MESSAGE
tel. 601 063 200