Mobile Phones
New legislation to increase the penalty for using a hand-held phone whilst driving came into force on 27 February 2007. Drivers caught using a mobile phone whilst driving now face a £60 fine and three penalty points on their licence.
A driver can also be prosecuted for using a hands-free device if they are not in proper control of their vehicle when using the device. The penalties are the same - £60 fine and three points on your licence.
- Research has shown that if you are using a mobile phone whilst driving, you are four times more likely to crash.
- Using a mobile phone whilst driving can also make reaction times up to half a second slower and as reaction times slow, risks of collisions increase.
- In fact, if you use any type of mobile, hands-free or hand-held, your reaction times are worse than if you were driving under the influence of alcohol.
- Tests have shown that reaction times for drivers using a hand-held phone slow by 50% when compared with normal driving and by 30% when compared to being drunk.
Recent research has shown that the new laws are having an effect with a 40 per cent reduction in the number of car drivers seen using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel between September 2006 and August 2007. Just one per cent of car drivers were observed using a hand held mobile while driving compared with 1.7 per cent in 2006.
Yet we frequently see drivers at the wheel risking their own and other people’s lives by using a mobile phone. If you are driving never use a mobile phone and if you are calling someone and realise they are driving, end the call immediately
Mobile Phone Facts
- It is hard to do two things at once and research has shown that if you are using a mobile phone whilst driving, you are four times more likely to have a crash.
- In fact, if you use any type of mobile be it hands free or hand held, your reaction times are worse than if you were driving under the influence of alcohol, at the legal limit. Tests have shown that reaction times for drivers using a hand-held phone slows reactions by 50% when compared to normal driving and by 30% when compared to being drunk (Direct Line Mobile Phone Report 2002).
- The use of a mobile phone often involves distractions which could be visual, auditory, mental or physical (Direct Line Mobile Phone Report 2002).
- Even if you're a careful driver, it's easy to be distracted by a phone call or text message - and that split second lapse in concentration could result in a crash
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