RAC reveals motoring mobile phone ‘epidemic’

11 million motorists admit they have used a mobile behind the wheel in the past 12 months

Motoring selfieMobile phone use while driving has reached ‘epidemic’ proportions, says the RAC, as tens of millions of drivers admit they reach for their smartphones while behind the wheel.

A staggering 11 million drivers have taken or received a call on a handheld mobile in the past year; even more worryingly, 5 million have taken photos or videos while driving. Some even admit to making video calls when driving.

1 in 5 drivers feel it is safe to check social media updates while waiting at traffic lights, and 44% of younger drivers aged 17 to 24 admit they have taken photos or videos when stationary behind the wheel.

  • Young drivers aren’t bothered about £150 spot fines for mobile phone use
  • 95% of drivers ‘regularly see others using mobile phones’
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In 2014, just 8% of motorists admitted they used a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel: this year, it’s shot up to 31%, with the proportion of drivers saying it’s not acceptable to take a quick call at the wheel actually falling by 6% – in other words, more and more drivers think it’s now acceptable to take a use a smartphone while driving.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said there is now clear evidence the use of handheld phones behind the wheel is on the increase. “The fact that drivers have little or no confidence that they will be caught when braking these laws is a likely contributor,” he said. “Every day, most road users see other drivers brazenly using their handheld phones – a sight which should be a thing of the past.

“The use of handheld mobile phones is the biggest road safety concern among motorists today: we call on all stakeholders to step up efforts to shift cultural attitudes and make the use of handheld mobile phones as socially unacceptable as drink driving.”

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Richard Aucock
Richard Aucockhttps://www.richardaucock.co.uk/
Richard is director at Motoring Research. He has been with us since 2001, and has been a motoring journalist even longer. He won the IMCO Motoring Writer of the Future Award in 1996 and the acclaimed Sir William Lyons Award in 1998. Both awards are run by the Guild of Motoring Writers and Richard is currently vice chair of the world's largest organisation for automotive media professionals. Richard is also a juror and Steering Committee director for World Car Awards and the UK juror for the AUTOBEST awards.

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