‘One in four drivers still using handheld phones while driving’

New research by UK motoring association the RAC reveals that nearly one in four drivers still makes or receives calls while driving, despite the doubling of penalties for the offence in March 2017, to six points and a £200 fine. In September 2016 the RAC revealed that the illegal use of handheld mobile phones at the wheel had reached epidemic proportions. Days later the Government announced the penalty for the offence would increase to six points and a £200 fine in a bid to stamp out the dangerous habit.
September 21, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

New research by UK motoring association the RAC reveals that nearly one in four drivers still makes or receives calls while driving, despite the doubling of penalties for the offence in March 2017, to six points and a £200 fine.

In September 2016 the RAC revealed that the illegal use of handheld mobile phones at the wheel had reached epidemic proportions. Days later the Government announced the penalty for the offence would increase to six points and a £200 fine in a bid to stamp out the dangerous habit.

The figure for illegal phone use while driving is down 28.7 per cent on 2016, but 23 per cent of 1,727 drivers questioned for the new survey admitted making or receiving calls at the wheel.

The survey also indicates mobile phone use while stationery has fallen by 20 per cent, with 40 per cent of drivers admitting to using a handheld phone while in stationery traffic.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: “Twelve months ago our research revealed that the illegal use of handheld mobile phones by drivers was at epidemic proportions – a year on and the situation still remains dire. Despite the law change and some high profile police enforcement campaigns we are in a situation where overall roads policing officer numbers are down on 2016 by a massive 30 per cent since 2007.

"It is clear we have a hard core of persistent offenders who believe they can get away with it by continuing to flout the law every day and we fear this may get worse with fewer dedicated roads policing officers.”

Related Content

  • IAM calls for greater focus on intelligence led drink drive enforcement
    August 8, 2014
    There should be greater use of intelligence-led policing to catch drink drivers who repeatedly and excessively flout the law, according to road safety charity Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). The call from the IAM comes as new figures published by the Department for Transport show the number of fatal accidents involving drink drivers last year falling by five per cent, from 220 in 2011 to 210 in 2012. In the same period, the number of people killed in drink drive accidents decreased by four per cent,
    Read More
  • Support for speed cameras remains high – but some drivers need convincing
    October 29, 2015
    A national survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has shown that although most drivers support speed cameras there are big variations across the country – and Londoners and people in the north-east appear to show higher levels of resistance than most. The survey polled 1,000 drivers of all age groups across Britain and asked “It is now common for the authorities to use speed cameras at the side of the road to identify vehicles involved in speeding offences. How acceptable do you think this i
    Read More
  • High-mileage drivers more dismissive value of speed cameras, says survey
    July 27, 2015
    High-mileage drivers are more likely than any other type of road user to think speed cameras have ‘little or no influence’ in reducing the numbers of road casualties in the UK, according to a white paper issued by the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) Drive and Survive division. The paper, Speed Cameras – The Views of High Mileage Drivers, also found 28 per cent of high-mileage drivers have a negative view of speed cameras – 10 per cent more than other drivers. It also found that more than half o
    Read More
  • Nine in 10 people want tougher sentences for drivers who kill
    July 11, 2016
    A study to mark the launch of Brake’s new Roads to Justice Campaign shows there is huge support for strengthening both the charges and sentences faced by criminal drivers. Ninety-one per cent of people questioned agreed that if someone causes a fatal crash when they get behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs, they should be charged with manslaughter. That carries a possible life sentence. At present people can either be charged with causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless
    Read More

Highlighted Content