Widespread Use of Mobile Phones While Driving in the UK

Almost a third of British motorists have answered a mobile phone while driving, while more than a quarter have read a text, a new survey suggests. In the poll of 2,100 people, conducted for motoring store Halfords, 31% of drivers said that they had answered a call at the wheel, and 22% that they had made one.

However, when asked about their experience as passengers, 52% of people said that they had been in a car when its driver answered or made a phone call. Halfords says that this could suggest a greater proportion of drivers may flout the law than are willing to admit it.

Further questions revealed that drivers are using their mobile phones for more than voice calls, however. Twenty-eight per cent of motorists said that they had read a text at the wheel, and 18% that they had sent one. Meanwhile, 5% admitted having accessed a social site such as Facebook or Twitter, and 3% that they had read an email.

Halfords in-car technology expert Clare Pritchard said that the only way to use a mobile phone legally while driving was to install a hands-free device. However, she added: "It is always better to pull into a safe place and stop the car before using the phone."

A Transport Research Laboratory study published in December 2009 found that stricter penalties for hand-held mobile phone use, introduced in 2007, had failed to change driver behaviour. Moreover, earlier this month Government research suggested a rise in the numbers using mobile phones while driving.

Since February 2007, drivers have faced a £60 fine and three penalty points for using their hand-held mobile while at the wheel of a car with its engine running - even if the vehicle is stationary at the time.

Commenting on Halfords' research, RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said that mobile phone use by drivers was "bad news" for road safety.

"We know drivers' reaction times slow by almost half when they are having a chat on their mobiles," he added.

"This is even worse than texting whilst driving, which RAC Foundation research has shown slows reaction times by a third."