BlackBerry outage coincides with reduced number of traffic accidents

When BlackBerry servers crashed between Tuesday and Thursday last week, owners of the popular business phones were left without a tool they've come to rely on. At the same time, the server crash could have made roads in the Middle East that much safer.

The National reports that traffic accidents in Dubai dropped 20 percent compared to historical averages during the blackout. In Abu Dhabi, accidents dropped by 40 percent, and there were zero fatalities. If you're thinking that this isn't a significant enough sample to show that smart phones and distracted driving are inexorably linked, consider this: There is an accident in Dubai every three minutes.

Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim pointed out to The National that the accidents resulting from distracted driving "range between minor and moderate ones, but at times they are deadly." Officer Al Harethi took it a step farther, adding "the roads became much safer when BlackBerry stopped working."

While the loss of BlackBerry service was no doubt a major inconvenience, these real-life statistics once again show that smart phones and driving just don't mix.

Jean-Claude Van Damme drives car into canal in Belgium

Hollywood movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme narrowly avoided injury after driving his car into a canal in his native Belgium.

Then he tried to show off his strength by hauling the half-sunken vehicle out on his own.
His efforts were ineffective, so he eventually asked two security staff at the nightspot to help him.
“He’d had a drink, but wasn’t drunk,” a spokesman for the disco told British newspaper The Sun.
The incident apparently affected Jean-Claude’s mood.
Van Damme is said to have caused the crash by accidentally putting the car into first gear instead of reverse.
Once he’d salvaged his car, he apparently accused fellow party-goers of stealing from him. He insisted people had tried to take his mobile phone and wallet. The star eventually disappeared into the night in the sodden vehicle.
Earlier this month, Double Impact was re-released on DVD, 20 years after it first hit cinemas.
In the movie, van Damme plays twins Alex and Chad Wagner, who are separated when their parents are killed by a gang, then reunite years later to take down the perpetrators.

Rides : Car Crash at Nürburgring: Eight cars Involved in Crash including BMW M3 Ring Taxi

According to a local police report, first picked up by Jalopnik, the accident was caused when a British driver came in too fast into a section called the “Bergwerk” where some construction has been taking place.

The British driver tried to brake, but the car became unstable and a side collision with a car driving ahead was inevitable. The car then hurled into the grass. After about 50 meters it came back on the road where it hit two other cars.
Three drivers noticed the crash take place so they slowed their cars to a crawl, however, the BMW M3 Ring Taxi didn’t notice the decelerating cars and continued on at a normal pace. When the BMW driver realized what is ahead it was too late. The ‘Ring Taxi’ crashed into the back of one of the civilian cars and eventually came to rest against the crash barrier as seen above.
Of the eight cars involved in the crash, all but one suffered serious damage.
The estimated cost of the crash is around €150,000.
According to reports from GTSprint.com the safety regulations were not being followed at the time of the crash and at the TV wall, where normally the safety video is shown, there was nothing but rolling commercials.