The dangers associated with using a mobile phone whilst driving are well documented and as such we hope that this is not something that you would even think about doing.
However, just in case you need a little more convincing, the following story in the Daily Mail is well worth checking out.
Crashes blamed on using a mobile rise 20% in just three years: RAC calls for crackdown on use at the wheel after overall accident rate drops
- Crashes involving a mobile have risen by 20 per cent in the last three years
- Fatalities in which mobiles have played a part have risen by five in a year
- The RAC says mobile phone should be as ‘unacceptable as drink-driving’
- Using a phone behind the wheel lands drives three points and a £100 fine
Perhaps the scariest fact here is that despite the sterling work completed by road safety charities and the threat of three points and a £100 fine for anyone caught using their phone at the wheel, the number of mobile phone related crashes continues to rise quickly.
According to figures released by the Department for Transport, road accident deaths that have been caused by mobile phone use rose by 29.4% in 2013 – from 17 to 22. Overall crashes involving mobiles went up from 378 in 2012 to 422 last year. This is in contrast to road accidents as a whole, which have dropped steadily in the last decade.
Unacceptable Risks
RAC chief engineer David Bizley said the trend of rising numbers of accidents involving mobile phones being used at the wheel will only be reversed when it becomes ‘as unacceptable as drink-driving’.
Mr Bizley said: ‘A report by the Transport Research Laboratory in June this year demonstrated that talking on a hand-held phone while driving causes a 46 per cent reduction in reaction speeds, compared to 13 per cent for drivers drinking to the legal limit. This is extremely compelling and puts into perspective the dangers of using a phone while driving.’
He added: ‘We feel there is currently a high level of acceptability which is something both this government, and the next administration that takes over in May 2015, needs to address as a matter of urgency if we are to prevent the number of accidents continuing to rise.’