The number of drivers using their mobile phones at the wheel – and breaking the law in the process – has reached epidemic proportions, according to a new report from the RAC.
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Thirty-one per cent of those surveyed admitted to having made or received a call while driving in the last 12 months and 14 per cent said they had taken photos or videos while at the wheel of a moving vehicle.
A further 26 per cent of drivers have checked texts, emails or social media while moving, 19 per cent of who physically wrote and sent correspondence themselves.
The survey of 1,714 United Kingdom motorists for the RAC’s annual Report on Motoring found that 7% of those who admitted using a mobile while driving said they did it because they knew they would get away with it.
Unsurprisingly, it was young drivers under the age of 24 who admitted most to taking pictures while driving – 36% said they had done this while driving, and 44% said they had done so in stationary traffic.
Nearly a quarter (23%) claimed it was an emergency, 21% said they needed information for their journey and 12% replied it was something they were in the habit of doing.
Nearly one-third (31%) of motorists admit to using a handheld phone behind the wheel compared to 8% in 2014, an RAC survey found.
Despite so many admitting to using phones behind the wheel, it was ranked by the same survey respondents as their top concern, making it the nation’s biggest motoring gripe of 2016.
The breakdown company said the proportion of people who feel it is acceptable to take a call while on the road has doubled from 7% in 2014 to 14% in 2016, while the percentage of drivers who have admitted to using their phones while driving has increased to 31% compared to 8% two years ago.
Between 2010 and 2015, the number of full-time dedicated roads policing officers outside of London declined by 27% to 3901.
Over at the Department for Transport, their figures show that drivers who have been distracted by their phones was a contributing factor in 492 accidents in Britain in 2014.
Williams said, “There is clear evidence that the illegal use of handheld phones by drivers to talk, text, tweet, post, browse and even video call is, if anything, on the increase”. If these figures reflect the majority of United Kingdom motorists, then that equates to 11 million drivers participating in a phone call and five million drivers using their phone’s camera over the course of a year.
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The Government is due to unveil the results of its consultation on higher penalties for handheld mobile phone use and it seems likely they will announce that the minimum fine for non-HGV drivers will increase from £100 to £150 and penalty points will increase from three points to four and from three to six points for HGV drivers.
