Mobile use behind the wheel 'on the up'

Date: 11/12/2009

There has been an increase in the number of drivers who use mobile phones while behind the wheel, new research shows.

A study conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) shows that some 2.8 per cent of drivers speak on their mobiles.

Some 12,000 cars and taxis, as well as 2,500 vans were surveyed at 33 London locations for the study.

When new penalties for the driving offence were introduced in 2007, 1.4 per cent of drivers were found guilty of driving while using a handheld mobile phone. Even before the new penalties - a £60 fine and three points on a licence - fewer drivers were using handheld devices while at the wheel of a car.

In that year, 2.6 per cent of drivers used handheld mobiles, TRL found.

A number of figures from the motoring world have spoken of their concern at the findings. President of the AA Edmund King said he was "shocked" at the figures, while Sarah Fatica from road safety charity Brake noted that it is "worrying" that people still do not take seriously the risks associated with driving while on the phone.

TRL Academy Fellow Dr Nick Reed highlighted the significance of the findings, with slower reaction times as a result of talking on the phone possibly affecting safety on the country's roads. Drivers using mobile phones "have worse reaction times than a driver at the legal limit of alcohol for driving", he said.