Skip to main content

One-tenth of car accidents in France are caused by mobile telephone use

A French study cliams that nearly one-tenth of car accidents causing bodily injuries are associated with the use of mobile telephones. Compared to drivers who do not have phone conversations while driving, the risk of an accident increases threefold whether a driver is talking directly into a mobile phone or using a hands free kit. At any given moment, it is calculated that roughly six per cent of all drivers are talking on their mobile phones or hands-free kits.
May 16, 2012 Read time: 1 min
A French study claims that nearly one-tenth of car accidents causing bodily injuries are associated with the use of mobile telephones. Compared to drivers who do not have phone conversations while driving, the risk of an accident increases threefold whether a driver is talking directly into a mobile phone or using a hands free kit. At any given moment, it is calculated that roughly six per cent of all drivers are talking on their mobile phones or hands-free kits.

The report was published by Inserm, the French national institute for health and medical research, and the Ifsttar institute for transport science and technology.

Related Content

  • November 6, 2015
    Technology, social media bigger perceived threats than drink-driving, IAM finds
    Motorists are now more worried about the dangers of distraction posed by technology and social media than drink-driving, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorist’s (IAM) first major survey into safety culture. The Safety Culture Index report was launched today by the IAM, and is a study of more than 2,000 UK motorists’ attitudes to driving safety and behaviour on our roads. IAM claims it will form a definitive baseline to track changes over time, providing the opportunity to examine how attitudes
  • September 15, 2016
    UK motorists ‘relax attitudes’ on distracted driving
    Research for the RAC’s Report on Motoring 2016 has revealed that for some, attitudes towards handheld mobile use have worryingly relaxed over the last two years. The proportion of people who feel it is acceptable to take a quick call on a handheld phone has doubled from seven per cent in 2014 to 14 per cent in 2016 and the percentage of drivers who feel it is safe to check social media on their phone when in stationary traffic, either at traffic lights or in congestion, has increased from 14 per cent in
  • April 17, 2015
    Fewer drivers punished for mobile use, police figures suggest – IAM response
    The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has responded to the BBC story this morning suggesting the number of drivers given penalty points for using mobile phones at the wheel fell by 24 per cent last year in England and Wales. In addition to the BBC’s findings, an earlier study by the Department of Transport showed 1.1 per cent of drivers in England and Scotland were observed holding a phone in their hand with a further 0.5 per cent observed holding the phone to their ear – this is potentially more tha
  • March 15, 2012
    Study finds speed cameras cut fatal accidents
    In the first study of its kind in Qatar, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha (WCMC-Q) have found a dramatic decrease in fatal motor injuries following the deployment of speed cameras. The research – Motor vehicle injuries in Qatar: time trends in a rapidly developing Middle Eastern nation – has been published in the peer-reviewed British medical journal, Injury Prevention. Most speed cameras in Qatar were installed during 2007, giving researchers the opportunity to examine injury rates befo