By Will Sturgeon, 31 May 2005 10:55
NEWS Two minutes watching traffic on any busy road will quickly tell you what we all already know: drivers in the UK are not obeying the law which states they must not drive while talking into a mobile phone.
And according to research from the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) that very practice is one of the most dangerous practices behind the wheel, only challenged in the danger stakes by tailgating - driving bumper-to-bumper.
Mums on the school run, office workers arranging their night out, workmen travelling from job to job, there appears to be no one group any more remiss than any other but all know they are breaking the law and continue to do so freely.
Steve Norris, a member of the IAM Council and former transport and road safety minister said too many drivers are slipping into bad habits "either through ignorance, impatience or, even worse, aggression".
He said phoning while driving is "a clear threat to the safety of others".
At the heart of the issue appears to be an 'it won't happen to me' culture of drivers who take their safety for granted.
As such it's unsurprising that the young are the most cavalier in their attitudes. Only 30 per cent of drivers aged 17 to 29 regard driving while on the phone as 'highly dangerous' according to a survey by the IAM. This compares to 50 per cent among other drivers.
Likewise men also tend to overrate their prowess behind the wheel. While 61 per cent of women see the danger in driving while on the phone only 44 per cent of men accept the risks.
"No one has the right to drive badly but the results of bad driving fill our hospitals every day. Using handheld mobile phones at the wheel has the potential to kill," said Norris.
Norris said the practice of phoning and driving should be regarded as being as antisocial as drinking and driving.
According to the Department for Transport, a total of 26,400 fixed penalty notices were issued by 27 of the 51 police forces in Great Britain during the first 10 months of new mobile phone driving regulations between 1 December 2003 and 30 September 2004.
Comments
There are 36 comments. Join the discussion
1. Geoffrey Darnton
Treat it like drink-driving - automatic minimum 12-month driving ban - then the incidence will drop dramatically - the number of times I see 'white van' drivers, mobile in one hand turning corners with the other! - and mums on the school run!
2. Andrew Waller
The problem is one of inconsistency. Police can use their communication devices, truckers are OK with a CB but the rest of us are too stupid to drive and talk at the same time? Testing is daft but using a speed dial (a couple of key presses) is no worse than tuning the radio. And if you really want to talk about distractions there's nothing worse than kids in the back.
3. Mike Browning
Reference your recent feature on mobile phone users flouting the law.
As a biker and also a fair weather cyclist I see my fair share of "Mobile Morons" every morning and evening. 4 Wheel Drives laden with school-kids and kangaroo bars Vauxhall Novas with dustbin sized exhaust pipes piloted by spotty Drum & Base brain-deads local authority garbage trucks emergency plumbing vans "Star Radio" Volkswagen Beetles -a range of different coloured courier vans almost every flash BMW. Ive even had to pull over to avoid the Old Age Pensioners service bus weaving its way down the hill with the driver dialling up for a take-away.
Our local planners - from the Planet Zarg have recently moved the main town bus station, to the middle of the busy A46 Cheltenham to Bath trunk road. Consequently all our local coppers now have full time posts marshalling hoards of children onto school buses and generally trying to prevent a major rush hour, road kill disaster. I guess a couple hours of this stressful work must exhaust our boys & girls in blue because we never see them out and about after 9.30a.m.
As for the £30.00 fine what a waste of time. What we need is a proper enforceable deterrent. How about an immediate, on the spot driving ban of say 6 weeks. If caught and you didnt have a passenger who could carry on the driving, then police could have powers to arrange for the vehicle to be transported off of the public road more money for government coffers. Furthermore I think following a second offence you should have your right ear cut off (remember Reservoir Dogs) at least then wed all be able to recognise the anti-social bastards.
4. Jammy Todger
Smoking while driving is far more dangerous than taking a call on a phone! The law is an arse we all know it, there are too many loop holes which can be exploited, have CB radio's been banned whilst driving, for instance picking your nose, scratching your arse, changing gear? We all have to take our hands off the steering wheel at sometime, I understand that some drivers are more dangerous than others, but new laws need to be introduced at the point of a new product being launched, not several years after.
5. Dave B
Could not agree more! An instant ban may well stop these morons who think one hand on the wheel and another on the phone is OK. But I also think that Police forces (or even the so called 'safety' camera partnership) should be doing far more to enforce the phone/driving law
6. anonymous
As there are no police around the chance of being caught is about the same as winning any amount on the lottery.
Drivers using mobiles are dangerous, but even worse are the number that have a mobile in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Some of the worst offenders appear to be Mums on school runs, Post office vans (do they take a test?) followed by the food store delivery drivers who only seem to be missing the Kamikaze head band when they go into action.
7. Mike McCreadie
The only way to deal with it is to replace speed cameras with "speed marksmen". Whether you're speeding or on your phone, if you pass a speed marksman you should expect one between the eyes. Beware the mobile marksman. It would eliminate the problem overnight.
By the way, what are indicators for? I've heard a rumour that a friend of a friend recently acccidently flicked on their indicators while searching for the headlamp switch. He promptly fainted. Thank heavens he wasn't moving at the time or there could have been a tragedy.
8. anonymous
Can't see much difference between smoking at the wheel and using a mobile, both are distracting and as such divert the drivers attention from the road.
I don't agree with either but as regards mobile phones, until the police start prosecuting - nothing will happen.
9. R S Latham
I was nearly knocked down by a driver doing a U Turn while making a call on his mobile.
I am nearly every day harrassed by cyclists on the pavement deliberately cycling illegally and aggressively.
With this lax attidute is is obvious the governement/councils/police are into making money and not spending it by enforcing the law.
Bah!! humbug to the judiciary of this country.
10. Alexander Graham Bell
This is a lot more than "Mums on the school run" so stop targeting them. Any time of the day you'll see these ejits in action...
11. Adam Woolhouse
Please could you present a balanced story....
""No one has the right to drive badly but the results of bad driving fill our hospitals every day. Using handheld mobile phones at the wheel has the potential to kill," said Norris." This is not a fact but anecdotal evidence. What are the facts behind driving while on a mobile.
12. anonymous
No-one cares. Not the people doing it, not the police and certainly not the government. The only thing that will stop this is the same thing that stops drunk driving - more police out on the roads. And that's unpopular, because people get caught doing what they want and they do not like it, Mr Mainwaring. That makes the govt. unpopular, and we won't be doing anything that does that. Not after Iraq, anyway. And it would be unpopular with the police - more police out there, more convictions and the only headline you'll see is "Crime Rate Soars." Chief Constable, you asked for more police and all we see is more crime. Have you thought about early retirement? The problem is not about consistency or whether driving while phoning is more or less dangerous than something else - it's one of selfishness and stupidity and refusing to do anything that sounds like leadership if people don't like it.
13. Alexander Graham Bell
This is a lot more than "Mums on the school run" so stop targeting them. Any time of the day you'll see these ejits in action...
14. Marconi
Re: Mike Browning's comments
As a non biker it's time bikers admit they are dangerous as well.
The number of times i've had bikers pull up next to me as i'm trying to turn right, obviously as they have right of way. The car driver has to stop and let them through otherwise there would be an accident which the car driver would be blamed for, even if it isn't their fault.
As for that ad on the telly about looking out for bikers, what rubbish, if the biker paid attention and saw the driver was turning right he shouldn't try over taking him. If he wasn't driving up the car's bumper he would have time to react and either slow down and stop or go past on the inside.
AGB is correct, and it's not just Mums who do this, they just hog the road, pull in without indicating and generally ignore all the highway code. This just makes it more obvious when they are on the mobile.
15. Alexander Graham Bell
Er, Cozy Powell
16. Brian Burkill
Unfortunately, and as far as I know, the law is vague regarding use..
I heard of a case whereby one person was prosecuted for using a mobile phone, in a layby, with the car stationary.. Reason, the keys were in the ignition and the engine may have been running, thus making the driver not in complete control.
There was also the case of someone prosecuted for eating a Mars Bar.
They should tighten the law so as to make mobile phone use feasible, in that if you are Stationary, then its OK, but if you are moving, its not.
And what about Hands free kits, is there usage illegal.. Is TALKING on the phone illegal or is USING the phone illegal?? Which one is it. Talking into a phone is no different to talking to a passenger or the kids in the back, but holding it to your ear with one hand is dangerous. I personally cannot do it and use a hands free kit.
I, like many others, have seen cars, vans and lorries swerving all over the road, while the driver happily natters into the phone. I ALWAYS check whether a driver is on the phone, as, in the case of an accident, would quote it on my insurance claim.
And I always glare at drivers on the phone, but
17. Paul
It is a shame people don't read before posting! Mums were not singled out. "Mums on the school run, office workers arranging their night out, workmen travelling from job to job, there appears to be no one group any more remiss ..."
The problem has been researched. It si not just handling a device other than the car, it is talking using a 'phone that adds to the distraction (more so than to a "live" passenger).
Police do not use mobile 'phones on the move, normally have a passenger to use the RT and in any case, they are trained.
Technically, using a CB is not legal but it is different. It is a fist mic and the conversation is not 2-way it is talk or listen.
Whatever, there cannot be an argument for reducing awareness and concentration on the task of driving - anything!
18. Barry Sheene
Its about thirty quid for a basic bluetooth handset. They are easy to set up and use. Perhaps the phone companies would like to add them to the phone packages they offer instead of things like free cinema tickets or MP3 players then maybe more people would use them. Most dangerous thing on the roads: Black cab driver on a mobile looking for a fare.
19. anonymous
Did the fine ever go up to £60 ? How about £100 and 6 points. I blow my horn at users - perhaps the people they are talking to will get the message as well then
20. Ed Francis
To say smoking at the wheel is no different from using a mobile is complete and utter crap.
With a cigarette in your hand you can still grasp the steering wheel between puffs.
When was the last time you heard someone on their mobile say "Oh! Hang on, Mr Steering Wheel needs a word" and hold the handset to the wheel so it can have a chat!
Driving with one arm requires special aparatus. Holding a handset to your ear for anything over twenty seconds takes an arm out of the piloting equation and endangers lives. There must be very few telephone calls that could possibly be worth another human's life.
21. anonymous
The facts, Adam, are that people can, and do, get killed by people using mobiles whilst driving.
I know they also get killed by people smoking, trying to control kids in the back, fiddling with the radio, CD player, air conditioning, whatever. However, few things quite tie-up a driver as much as trying to hold a sometimes complex conversation, whilst simultaneously turning a steering wheel, changing gear, operating indicators, windscreen wipers, watching traffic, watching pedestrians, and doing all this with one hand holding onto a phone.
Come on, you're allowed to use a hands-free system, though personally I'd argue against that too, but it does greatly reduce the load on a drivers abilities. So if you *MUST* use a mobile get a hands-free system. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to drive a car.
22. Anthony Cutler
The biggest distraction in a car by a long way is mis-behaving young children. Every parent/driver has had to restrain children in the back of the car. There's no safe way of doing this whilst travelling along a motorway. Should children be banned in cars?
23. Dave Leslie
Adam's wrong - these are facts: they may not present a balanced point of view, but nevertheless they're facts.
Also a fact: people who use mobile phones while driving are serial offenders, and are likely to commit other driving offences: exceeding 30mph speed limits, stopping within advanced stop line areas etc. Basically a me-me attitude, selfinsh and overestimating abilities.
24. anonymous
As usual typical over reaction of all the H&S folk, (they probably run out of things to ban). There are 1000's of distractions that can cause lapse of concentration. For the most part we either are capable of managing two stimuli at once or we rely on traing and experince to carry us through. And that is it!! If you want to reduce roadkill have better road training. A 20 minute test for Life does not prepare you for today's roads. (I was taught Hand signals) So no more bans of this and that so that tin-pot little hitlers can strut around finger wagging. Let's concentrate on improving driving ability for everyone.
25. anonymous
Followed by a young female in a people carrier, phone in one hand - cigarette in the other cclose to my rear bumper for two miles - scary.
26. John Beardon
The flip side to this issue are the irresponsible people who do take notice of the law. Not those with hands free devices but those who seem to think the law has given them the right to stop wherever they feel like, ignoring whether they are blocking the road or within skidding distance of a corner. I live in a fairly rural area and must see around 5 idiots a day who have ground to a halt as soon as the phone rings. If you must use the phone in the car then get the proper kit. Don't be an accident waiting to happen by parking in stupidly unsafe locations!
27. Adrian Carey
Last night on M25. 2 cars, both driving at 70+ in outside lane, both drivers texting.
One diver, male late 20's early 30's.
Other, a young woman, had a child in the back.
I despair!
28. Mouhamad A. Naboulsi
This is a self promotion, but it is helpful to the general public. I invented and patented a solution that enables user to use the phone without taking their hands off the steering wheel. Indeed, the system can be configured to disable the phone and the like if the driver take one or booth hands off the steering wheel. The system also blocks incoming calls that are greatly distracting from ringing if the turn signal is on, or the vehicle is experiencing Acceleration, Deceleration, or a turn. The solution already used, without compensation, by several luxury car makers, but it did not trickle down to the masses. We are looking for someone to manufacture and sell the product. Please visit our website at www.actplace.net
29. Paul
On Children being a distraction, no don't ban them but if they are that much of a problem then you should not be in the car alone with them!
30. Mike Parks
When I've mentioned this to the local Police they say it's not a priority.
When they took the oath to be a Police man/woman they said they would uphold the law.
Fat chance!
Too boring and basic!
Where's the large drugs cache / murder / etc
31. anonymous
To close the loop perhaps you had better ban females in skimpy summer clothing from the pavements, I have seen plenty of drivers spending more time & effort watching them than concentrating on their driving !
32. anonymous
To close the loop perhaps you had better ban females in skimpy summer clothing from the pavements, I have seen plenty of drivers spending more time & effort watching them than concentrating on their driving !
33. Steve Bunn
As a motorcyclist I see examples of using the mobile whilst 'driving' all the time. When I make an innocent gesture to the driver to terminate the call, I get verbally abused and several hand gestures.
These irresponsible people will never change until they are properly fined.
34. Fergus McQuire
Speaking on a mobile whilst driving is no more of a distraction than talking to a passenger, eating, smoking, switching on/changing the radio/CD or changing the aircon, so why not ban all these things as well? The big danger is trying to dial a number or send a text whilst driving. This law is typical of the 'knee-jerk' reaction we get from government when something really bad happens and they must be seen to 'do' something. And I do use a bluetooth headset.
35. Rupert
Sunny Exeter, maybe someone has already said this but its not about where your hands are it's about where your mind is.
36. Howard Smith
This is rife in London and I have nearly been hit on my bike twice recently by mobile using drivers. The Police need to operate plain clothes sting operations at junctions as they do with tax discs. tghe reason drivers carry on doing it is that the risks of getting caught are stall small.