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

  • US traffic fatalities fall in 2014, but early estimates show 2015 trending higher
    December 22, 2015
    The US saw a slight decline in traffic deaths during 2014, according to the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, an increase in estimated fatalities during the first six months of this year reveals a need to reinvigorate the fight against deadly behaviour on America's roads, NHSA says.
    Read More
  • IAM warns of new driving dangers
    July 23, 2015
    New research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) reveals the shocking extent to which drivers use their phones and tablets to take selfies, make video calls and watch videos while driving. The findings come from research commissioned this month exclusively by the IAM, which asked 500 drivers how they use their smartphones and tablets in the car. Results show that nine per cent of drivers admitted to taking a selfie while driving ‘in the last month’. This increases to 15 per cent of young driv
    Read More
  • New legal basis brings EU wide cross border enforcement
    February 25, 2015
    Pan-EU enforcement is set to become a reality after legislation is revised. In May 2014 the European Court of Justice ruled that European Directive 2011/82/EU, which came into force in November 2013 to facilitate the exchange of information between member states in relation to eight road traffic offences, had been set up on an incorrect legal basis. The regulations had been introduced under police cooperation rules on the prevention of crime, but the Court decided that the measures in the Directive do not c
    Read More
  • UN chief highlights road safety
    November 21, 2012
    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
    Read More

Highlighted Content