Use Of Mobile While Driving On Rise

• News
• Published: 08 Feb 2010 in Motoring and Car Insurance

A growing number of English motorists are using hand-held mobile phones while driving, it has been revealed.

The Department of Transport has found that the proportion of people in England using mobiles rose from 1.1% to 1.4%, up 27% between September 2008 and November 2009. The figure for van and lorry drivers rose by 18% from 2.2% to 2.6%.

The figures are worrying, since research shows that using phones behind the wheel severely impairs reaction time, and could well affect your car insurance requirements.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of RAC Foundation, said: "This is very worrying. We know that drivers' reaction times slow by almost half when they are having a chat on their mobiles.

"This is even worse than texting whilst driving which our research has shown reduces reactions by a third. It has been illegal to use a hand-held phone at the wheel since December 2003 and yet we have still seen this increase."

He said that the use of a mobile phone while driving contributed to 16 fatal road accidents in 2008, with many more serious injuries reported.

"Police must be given the resources to tackle this menace and drivers persuaded that what they are doing is potentially lethal," Prof Glaister added.