Only a third? I'd say far more. Only this week, did I see a Nissan GTR on Sheffields main high st, driver had bright blue phone to ear, no seatbelt on, window down, could hear conversation, sat at traffic lights. I must admit it's the high end cars that I see far more doing this than your 10yrd old toyota corolla's drivers...

 

I recently asked an officer what you could do if you saw someone taking the absolute mick like this. Report it I asked? No point, it's your word against there's.  

 

True enough I thought,  well apart from the logs the phone co's have of position/call. So given the police are I thought about prevention, why not issue a warning letter at least a 'heads up', get smart! 

 

So heads down, ignore it as a member of the public...

 

What do you think, does a third seem like a fair number?  Are you bothered if you see someone on their phone while driving in an urban/rural/motorway environment?

 

This is a report that came in this morning from Kwikfit.

 

• Number of road accidents in which mobiles are a factor has increased by 24% in five years -
• Millions of drivers don’t know the rules for using phones 

 

Despite high profile government and police campaigns highlighting the dangers of using a mobile when driving, many motorists are still flouting the law and putting their lives, and those of other road users, at risk. A new study for Kwik Fit, the UK’s leading automotive servicing and repair company, reveals that a third (34%) of drivers are still using their mobile phone without a handsfree set¹.

The figures are especially alarming as the most recent government statistics show that in five years there was a 24% increase in the number of accidents in which a contributory factor was the driver being distracted by using a mobile phone².

 

Kwik Fit’s study revealed that more than a quarter (26%) of drivers use their satnav or GPS on their phone, while almost one in five say they take calls (19%) or read text messages (17%). One in six (16%) make calls without a handsfree set, with around one in eight (12%) sending texts. Although some drivers claim they only use their phone in an emergency, more than half a million motorists admit to making calls on almost every journey they make.

 

Four months on from the introduction of increased penalties for mobile phone use, many drivers remain unaware of the laws and the penalties for breaking them. More than two in five people (43%) do not know that the penalty for using a hand-held phone when driving is six points. The additional focus on inexperienced drivers has also passed many people by, with only 47% of Brits knowing that those caught using a phone without a handsfree set in their first two years will lose their licence.

 

It is worrying that it is the youngest drivers who are the most ignorant about mobile phone rules, despite the use of a handheld mobile phone having been illegal since before they started driving. Drivers aged 18-24 are nearly three times more likely than the average motorist to believe it’s legal to use your phone when stopped at traffic lights, and twice as likely to say you can answer calls but not make outgoing ones, and that drivers are allowed to use their phone in slow moving traffic. All these statements are incorrect.

 

It is also the youngest drivers who are most likely to have experienced trouble on the road due to mobile phone use. 40% of 18-24 year olds have either had a collision or near miss, or got involved in an argument because somebody was using their mobile phone, more than double the figure for all drivers. Almost one in ten (8%) drivers aged 18-24 say they have had a collision because they were distracted by their mobile phone, with a further 8% saying they have almost done so. This compares with figures of 2% and 3% respectively for all drivers.

 

While many of these collisions may be minor bumps with no injury, government data reveals that there has been a large increase in serious accidents where a contributory factor has been the driver using a mobile phone. The number of accidents in which people were killed or seriously injured increased by 25% between 2011 and 2015, the most recent years for which full data is available. Although the number of fatal accidents in which a driver has been distracted by a mobile phone has remained consistent at an average of 22 per year – there has been a big rise in the number of accidents resulting in serious or slight injuries.

 

Flouting the laws on mobile phone use is most common in London, where nearly half of drivers (47%) say they use their phone without a handsfree set. The most law abiding region is the East of England, yet even here, almost a quarter (24%) admit to breaking the law when it comes to mobile phone use.

 

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “The findings of this study are very worrying indeed. While car manufacturers have made great strides in improving safety, it is vital that drivers remember that they are the most important safety feature in the vehicle. Any form of distraction can have serious consequences, as sadly, the statistics clearly show.

 

“It is especially important for inexperienced drivers to be fully focused on what they are doing. The fact that this report has found that younger drivers have less knowledge of the rules and are more likely to take risks means more needs to be done to educate them in the very first weeks and months of driving. Kwik Fit is working with schools and colleges around the country to hold events aimed at improving the safety of those drivers who are new to the road and education on the use of mobiles is an important part of that.”

 

Any school, college or other youth group who would like to hold a free road safety event can contact their local Kwik Fit centre who can help arrange it. --my emphasis

 

 

- ENDS -

Notes to editors

1 – Research carried out by ICM amongst a nationally representative sample of 2043 GB adults aged 18+
2 – Contributory factors for reported road accidents

 

About Kwik Fit

Established in 1971, the Kwik Fit Group is one of the largest independent automotive parts, repair and replacement specialists in the world. Kwik Fit has over 600 service centres across the UK and more than 200 mobile tyre fitting vehicles, making it the UK’s leading tyre, exhaust, brake and MoT specialist. Details of its range of products and services can be found at kwik-fit.com

 

I wonder what the police think of the modern car and its 'driver assistance' aids.

Do they seriously think that those into social media trivia are going to ignore the nudge from their phone?.

 Surely it can only get worse.

Interesting,

looks like some Kwik Fit Management or Media consultant thought a Survey they had done would get them publicity / advertising for 'much cheapness'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwik_Fit 

Advertising yes of a sort, also a lightly interesting topic  by proxy associated with. I didn't want to pass it off as my own though

 

 

The most annoying thing is that all of those high end cars will have built in phone capabilitiy.

 

Some of the schools up here run events called "Safe Drive Stay Alive" for the older kids.

 

I'm told it's very hard hitting and they bring up wrecks in which people died and families of the dead speak as well.

 

http://www.safedrive.org.uk

My last 2 cars have bluetooth built in & its so easy to accept a call whilst driving (if its that important that it must be answered) & most modern stuff does as well,its not hard to link your phone to the car so i wonder why you see people on their phones in cars that clearly have bluetooth. Seeing people on thier phone or worse texting whilst driving is as annoying as people who just stop in the most dangerous places,put their hazards on & take the call....

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by mikey vrs
spelling mistake

I would say it was higher than a third too. The office I work in has quite a lot of young ladies who openly admit to using their phones be it to talk, test or play music from. Driving into work you can see plenty people with their heads down playing with something, I would hazard a guess at phones rather than their crotch all though some videos going around would suggest otherwise. Traffic lights seem to be a break where they whip out their phones then don't realise that the traffic in front of them has moved off until you pap your horn, which gets you a load of abuse. Cars wondering across lanes is no longer the domain of the drink driver but the phone user. 

It seems to be more women who can't be parted from their phones whilst they drive so texting, social media etc quite often with their kids in the car. Men on the other hand seem to have their phones to their head or talking into it whilst held in front of them, they are usually in expensive cars that would come as standard with bluetooth so no excuse. 

On the motorbike I do make an effort of dropping a couple of gears and pulling alongside them. The loud exhaust noise usually makes them jump out of their skins at which point I give the hand gesture to put their phone down. 

 

 

There is a sex that is said to be better at multitasking.........though I think that actually means both things done badly. 

after market car kits are cheaper than a fine,so no real excuse but I must admit that when I was at work I did succumb at times,human nature !

Saw two this week. One a large truck, the driver of which stabbed the horn accidentally while trying to switch hands... This in heavy 20mph traffic on cone-narrowed roads past large work gangs...!!

 

More telling is the number of people who get upset with me because I didn't answer my phone... because I was driving... !!!

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by Ttaskmaster

It's the people  texting while driving that really amazes me, especially as the try to hide it by hiding the phone on their laps. You can tell them a mile off.

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by io1901

It appears to me that most of people texting whilst driving are WOMAN but most of the people driving and holding /speaking are MEN,just a general observation,non scientific.

hate t be sexist but to me its mostly women i see on the phone or texting in the car.  personally ive given them a quick beep on the horn (sometimes enought to get the person on the other end to realise and cut the conversation short) or inbad cases in traffic ivr actually stopped the car, got out and had a quiet word with them.  the latter either gets me a mouthful of abuse or they are so shocked they just put the phone down immediately...

I still contend that a large % of the driving public (and therefore voting age adults) are as thick as the proverbial. You only need to observe drivers on a daily basis to see that this country is full of arrogant selfish people for whom the only concern is themselves. Rules are for other people. It's actually a metaphor for society today.

The problem is, as it is with any law, absolutely no use unless enforced - and I mean strictly in cases of a reasonably proven (I believe) safety issue like texting while in motion. Also has to become as socially unacceptable as drink-driving, apart from in the view of the ones offending. 

I must admit after several pints I do find it difficult to text when driving..............

 

 

but im not a woman! Or sexist