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Motoring news

Driver mobile use on the rise despite tougher laws

11/12/2009

The introduction of tougher laws to penalise those who use hand-held mobile phones while driving has done nothing to stop the practice, research in London has suggested.

The study by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) found that 2.8% of car drivers in the capital are flouting the law - which now sees a £60 fine and three penalty points issued for the offence.

This compares to 2.6% in 2006, before the penalties were strengthened from a £30 fine.

While the new law appeared to have an initial impact when it was introduced in 2007, the research suggests that usage has since doubled to its current level.

And for taxi drivers and van drivers the increase has been even more marked. Hand-held usage by taxi drivers appears to have risen from 0.7% two years ago to 1.6% this year, while usage among van drivers has seen an increase from 1.8% to 4.5% over the same period.

In general, men were found to be more likely to use hand-held mobiles while driving than women, though that trend was reversed for 17-29-year-olds.

The growing use of mobile phones at the wheel has been highlighted in recent weeks, with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) warning that their usage makes a driver four times more likely to crash.

Meanwhile, TRL research for the RAC Foundation concluded in September that text-driving could have a worse effect on driver reaction times than alcohol or cannabis.

Former transport minister Stephen Ladyman, who introduced the penalties, told BBC Radio Four's Today programme that the TRL findings made for "very disappointing news". He said that he believed the Government would need to extend powers for issuing fines to Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and even traffic wardens.

"Clearly the new penalty worked, in that the number of people doing this was effectively halved for the 12 months after the new penalty was brought in," Ladyman said.

"But people have either got used to the law, or they've just assumed they're not going to get caught now."