Dec 22, 2021
Drivers who pick up their phones when behind the wheel are gambling with their own lives and the safety of others.
Last year on Great Britain’s roads there were 368 collisions, of all severities, where use of a mobile phone was the main contributory factor.
The UK Government has recently announced that it will tighten the rules around mobile phone use while driving.
It will now be illegal to hold a phone and use it for virtually any purpose when behind the wheel.
This change is about time, as the initial legislation which banned mobile phone use while driving was passed in 2003, well before the age of the smartphone, and was focused on interactive communications only.
Any secondary activity puts extra demands on the driver, which may adversely affect their driving standard.
Distracted drivers can:
Be less aware of what’s happening on the road around them.
Such as:
Failure to see road signs, not maintaining proper lane position and a steady speed or being aware that a vehicle is slowing down in front.
This then can result in a slower time to react and longer to brake.
Distracted driving is a serious matter, it can lead to serious and fatal collisions.
Road accident data suggests that in 2020, ‘distraction in vehicle’ contributed to over 2,000 accidents.
Alarmingly, using a mobile phone while driving is often indicative of a deep-rooted and irresponsible attitude towards the road.
In order to make our roads safer, we need to instil that distracted driving, using your mobile phone whilst driving, is as dangerous as drink-driving.