Skip to main content

UK motorists concerned about increase in mobile phone use while driving

Over 86 per cent of UK motorists think distraction caused by mobile phones has become worse in the last three years, according to the second Safety Culture Survey commissioned by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart. In second place was congestion at 81 per cent, reflecting the increasing number of vehicles on the roads as the recession ends. Of the 2,000 UK drivers surveyed, nearly three quarters believed aggressive driving had worsened over the last three years, with more than 60 per cent reporting the
November 23, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Over 86 per cent of UK motorists think distraction caused by mobile phones has become worse in the last three years, according to the second Safety Culture Survey commissioned by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart.  In second place was congestion at 81 per cent, reflecting the increasing number of vehicles on the roads as the recession ends.  

Of the 2,000 UK drivers surveyed, nearly three quarters believed aggressive driving had worsened over the last three years, with more than 60 per cent reporting the same for drug-driving.

The survey asked about the potential car driving problems faced by motorists now compared to three years ago, perceived threats to personal safety whilst driving, support for potential new regulations and many other aspects of motoring life.

Many UK drivers believe the dangers of mobile phones and technology are bigger threats than any other factor on the roads. Some 94 per cent considered drivers checking or updating social media as a threat to their personal safety, while 93 per cent said that was the case for drivers text messaging or e-mailing, and for 91 per cent it was the case for drivers talking on mobile phones.

Some 89 per cent of those surveyed felt people driving after drinking alcohol was a threat to their safety compared to 88 per cent who felt that about those who took illegal drugs and then drove.

There is also huge approval for stricter measures to prevent and reduce drivers using mobile technology in cars, including banning reading or sending text messages, regulating in-car technology to minimise distraction to drivers and prohibiting mobile phone use while driving. Nearly two-thirds agreed that all drivers be encouraged to improve their driving skills by taking advanced driving tuition and passing an advanced driving test.

In the wake of the survey, IAM RoadSmart has also issued road safety tips in time for Road Safety Week, the UK's biggest road safety event.

These include switching off the mobile phone when you get behind the wheel, keeping to the speed limit, always wearing a seatbelt, giving space to motorcyclists, slowing down near schools and in residential areas and not jumping red lights.
UTC

Related Content

  • April 29, 2015
    Foundation funds research for informed campaigning
    ITS International talks to Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the transport research and lobbying organisation, the RAC Foundation. It is through the eyes of an economist that Professor Stephen Glaister, emeritus professor of transport and infrastructure at Imperial College London and director of the RAC Foundation, views current and future transport problems. Having spent 30 years at the London School of Economics and another 10 at Imperial, the move to the RAC Foundation was a radical departure from
  • April 28, 2017
    Experiment discovers ‘deadliest distractions’ at the wheel
    Road safety charity IAM RoadSmart and UK car magazine Auto Express teamed up to find out which are the deadliest behind-the-wheel distractions with programming a sat-nav found to be the worst. Auto Express consumer editor Joe Finnerty and British Formula 3 hopeful Jamie Chadwick were put to the test in a professional racing simulator at Base Performance Simulators in Banbury. They were both assessed to see how they coped with the most common distracting tasks on UK roads, while completing timed laps and bra
  • November 17, 2016
    Safety fears over driverless and electric cars make majority of UK drivers 'cautious'
    The majority of people in the UK has reservations about new driving concepts such as driverless and electric cars, but believes the popularity of such technologies will surge in the future, according to a new survey carried out by industrial connectors and components distributor Northern Connectors. The survey revealed that almost two-thirds of respondents cited safety issues, such as the driver not being in full control of their vehicle, as a main disadvantage of driverless cars. Almost half are worried
  • November 21, 2012
    UN chief highlights road safety
    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has highlighted the importance of road safety in preventing more than one million people from dying and many more from getting injured each year in traffic accidents. “This year, the world's roads have claimed some 1.2 million lives,” Mr. Ban said in his message marking World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. “Added to the fatalities are the more than 50 million people injured each year – many of them now condemned to enduring physical disabilities and psychologic