More drivers are using hand-held mobile phones than before tougher penalties were introduced two years ago, the Transport Research Laboratory has said.
It found 2.6% of car drivers used hand-held phones in 2006 – when fines rose to £60 and three points could be added to licences – compared with 2.8% now.
Phone-using drivers are four times more likely to crash. The TRL said drivers’ “reaction time is likely to be slower”.
Its study in London involved almost 12,000 cars and taxis and 2,500 vans.
The report’s authors believe there is no reason to think the picture at the 30 sites in London is not the same right across the UK.
Researchers said the 2.6% of car drivers using hand-held mobile phones in 2006 almost halved to 1.4% the following year, when tougher penalties were brought in.
The fine was doubled to £60 and three points were put on offenders’ licences. But since then the number has been rising.
This year 2.8% of car drivers were found using a hand-held mobile – more than before the tougher penalties came into force.
And it is the same picture with taxi and van drivers. They too are now more likely to use a hand-held mobile phone than they were before the penalties were increased.
The researchers split drivers into three age groups and found women aged 17-29 were most likely to use a hand-held mobile whilst driving, while men aged 30-59 were most likely to use a hands-free mobile.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8407142.stm
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