Using a mobile phone at the wheel is never a good idea, and except in some extreme circumstances is also illegal. Between 2013 and 2015 an average of 24 people were annually killed in a car crash where a mobile phone was cited as the main cause.
While the number of people using a phone at the wheel has fallen since 2015, experts are worried that the statistic doesn’t reflect the actual number of those using phones.
Roadside survey
The phone observations were done through a roadside survey conducted over a period of time by the Department for Transport. The survey is done every two years, and there was a 0.5% decrease in mobile phone use noted from the 2015 survey to the 2017 survey.
Observations were made while cars were stationary and when they were moving, in order to properly understand the difference in behaviours.
Over 90 different sites were used in the survey, in different areas and spread far across the country. Some were rural, some suburban, and some were urban. Motorways were not included in the survey as it is impossible to get accurate results from such high-speed roads.
Unpacking the stats
The survey found out loads of statistics about user behaviour, but what does it actually show us about how people use mobile phones, and what tech companies should be doing to help stop the 24 people a year who die because of a driver using their phone.
Overall, 1.1% of drivers were observed using a mobile phone on a weekday. Interestingly, the difference between Scotland and England and Wales was over double, as drivers seen on their phone was 2%, compared to 0.6% in England and Wales.
Motorists between ages 17-29 were the worst offenders with 4% of drivers in that age category caught using a phone at the wheel. However, the gender split for all age groups was fairly minimal with 1.2% of men and 1.1% of women getting caught.
The introduction of the stricter law in March 2017 will have impacted the results, but the DFT clearly states that “this does not imply causation or prove the effectiveness of the policy.”
Real life impact
Using a phone behind the wheel is a choice, and those who do are not only putting themselves at risk, but also everyone around them. The sad death of Carol Boardman in 2016 after a motorbike hit her, was cited due to the rider being distracted by his mobile phone. Similarly, the case of David Shields up in Scotland shows the same. He was playing for his mobile phone for a total of 18 seconds before he crashed into the back of Yvonne Blackman’s car, of which she later died of severe injuries sustained from the crash.
Distracted driving is becoming a real issue, and now with cars implementing more and more tech, are we on the brink of an increase in distracted driving collisions?
Cars are also getting safer and safer, so are we taking our driving less seriously as we know our cars can protect us? Even 20 years ago, cars were a lot less safe, and people were aware and so drove more carefully. Now, our cars protect us more and more, they have special protective elements, from crumple zones to pre-collision sensors and automatic emergency braking.
What needs to change?
Experts are concerned that the reality of these stats isn’t true and that the actual figures are much higher.
Tech companies are working on ways to help stop users behind the wheel, and Apple has their “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode for iOS 11 and up that automatically detects when you are driving and will switch it on. It replies to all texts with an automatic response and keeps the screen off and silent. If you have Bluetooth or a phone interface in the car, it will allow the phone to connect to that, but keeps it silent still.
Android, unless you have a Google Pixel 2 or up, doesn’t automatically have this feature, although the phone does know when you are driving through Google Maps. It is thought that they are rolling out this feature to more phones soon.
There’s a couple of apps you can get for Android that work quite well, depending on your preference. If you want a handsfree experience then you can use Android Auto, which while a bit clunky and slow works very well as a simple interface. It will allow you to automatically reply to texts and can auto-reply to calls with an “I’m driving right now” if you’d like it to. Auto also has your music, maps and calls in a large menu at the bottom of the screen.
If you’d prefer a complete Do Not Disturb experience, then there are plenty of apps out there that offer such a thing, while it’s not compatible with all Android devices, an app called Driving Detective mimics the Apple features for Android.
What do you think of the statistics? Should the law on mobile phones become stricter? Let us know below
Question: Is using a mobile for a SATNAV in a proper mobile holder and not touching it during driving considered safe?
Just checked the Highway code:
Using a phone or a sat nav when driving: It’s illegal to hold a phone or sat nav while driving or riding a motorcycle.
You must have hands-free access, such as:
• a bluetooth headset
• voice command
• a dashboard holder or mat
• a windscreen mount
• a built-in sat nav
The device must not block your view of the road and traffic ahead.
You must stay in full control of your vehicle at all times. The police can stop you if they think you’re not in control because you’re distracted and you can be prosecuted.
I have a built in Sat Nav and Bluetooth. In my previous cars I always turned off my Mobile whilst driving. Equally dangerous and affecting a lot more drivers than mobile phones are the number of drivers who cannot speak to their passenger without looking at them. Taking their eyes totally off the road for the length of their input into the conversation, looking back at the road when their passenger is speaking.
The phone and the vehicle should have been seized from them from the start not just a fine and a few points on their licence and the vehicle and phone crushed as well then very few would have taken the risk
Good point. I would perhaps not be quite as radical as bishbut, however instant reemoval of peoples phones would be quite effective and possibly more effective than a spot fine & points. How many of our mobile addicted nation could stand to be separated from their devices for more than a few minutes? I know people who become stressed out when they are somewhere with no moble signal temporarily never mind being disconnected for days. Phone removal might even be theraputic for them, as they might start to notice what is happening around them.
Of course it should be stricter, the majority of calls are frankly inconsequential/irrelevant. Do people really not care whether that call results in their or other people’s death!
It’s the same old thing, choosing to do the right thing or not. Everybody knows that the not using your mobile phone behind the wheel law is difficult to police, especially with the declining numbers of officers availability. I agree that cars are getting safer, but how often do we all see the same drivers day after day with faulty lights, obscured number plates, etc they just don’t care about themselves or any other road users,. Good considerate drivers which I consider myself, yes we all can make mistakes we are human after all, check my vehicle regularly for defects etc, in the same respect as my phone use in my vehicle which I use in a vent holder for sat nav use only also I use handfree voice commands to interface with my phone. The complacency of those drivers who flount the laws, believing they will never gat caught, but west midlands police and other forces across the country are now actively asking for dashcam footage to be uploaded to report of instances of inconsiderate, distracted and dangerous driving, but be aware that said footage could hold a multiple sins of the uploaders driving and could lead to themselves facing prosecutions.
If we want safer roads and to remove the shocking deaths of the 24 people attributed to phone use, we all have to make a stand and report these drivers, because its these driving behaviours that ultimately cause disruption on our roads when things go wrong, with delays to other motorists. If we don’t report these drivers we are as bad as them, either that being not having the time to do so, or just plainly not bothered, just to put this into perspective it takes around 3 minutes to report and upload footage, compare that to hours in a tailback, the math to me is quite simple, I personally believe my time has value I am glad to give up 3 minutes(excluding the fact by submitting a report you agree to attend court to give evidence) to potentially save myself hours in a river of red tail lights.
The penalty for using mobiles whilst driving are ineffective.
Anyone caught should be removed from their vehicle that should then be impounded. The perpetrators told to find their own way to wherever. To recover their vehicle there should be a daily storage fee plus a fixed sum and 6 points added to their licence. Additionally their phone should be confiscated.
Draconian maybe, but the choice is the offenders.
The law needs changing for using the phone behind the wheel
We all use smart phones so surely the manufacturer should have inbuilt software that detects your driving and put the fone into a car mode just like flight mode for when your flying it should be compulsory
All your texts , emails, missed calls will be automatically reconnected when you turn the engine off
The same goes for drink drivers the law should be no alcohol what so ever
That takes away all the confusion about units etc
Same for drug users no drugs what so ever
Tougher penalties should be inplace for all the above
Inpound the car and fone force sale of car and disconnect fone from network
Instant 18 month driving ban
6 points on licence for 5 years
Resit advanced driving test
Publicly name and shame with photo
That will give out a tough zero policy
How would it detect you’re the driver & not a passenger?
And how would this work with older cars? Not everyone can afford a new or even nearly new car.
Yesterday evening behind someone at traffic lights could see in they were watching TV things are just getting worse. We needed to convince people that distracted driving is worse than drunk driving
Depends on how you define ‘distracted driving.’ Clearly watching the tv is distracted driving, but what about looking to change the fan or heating setting, or the radio channel, lighting a smoke or reprogramming the sat nav on the go? All these can be considered as a distraction from driving as you need to take your eyes off the road. The key component is the duration of the distraction. A split second or a second, is ok as we look in the rear view mirror while we are driving, but what happens if a few people are killed because some drivers spend too long reprogramming the sat nav and have an accident, will sat navs be banned too? There will always be people who push the boundaries, and cause an accident, but you can’t ban everything. At some point, the driver’s have to take responsibility for their own actions, instead of being treated like kids and having too many rules in place. I just think it is too Big Brother to ban all these things just because of a couple of idiots.
Drunk driving by the way is stupid and illegal and FAR worse than distracted driving because you’re not in complete control of your actions once in the car, but being distracted for a duration while sober is a choice the individual makes while driving.
Kelvin, Doe’s it not occur to you that being “distracted while sober” whilst driving is no difference if the driver is drunk, drugged up tuning the radio, setting the Sat Nav, distracted by other events going on in or outside the vehicle and mobile phone use. All these distractions when travelling at low or high speed can lead to an accident or in other words a minimum of “Driving Without Due Care and Attention”. So in your thinking as long as you are not Drunk whilst Driving everything is perfectly OK to do!!!!
I dont need a phone to alter the controls in the car…. The law says no phone… for safetys sake,.. and its being ignored….
The fact that so many people have been killed or seriously injured by persons using a mobile phone whilst driving tells it
s own story. In addition what has been the effect on family, loved ones and friends. The fine should automatically be £1000 and a 6 month driving ban with the necessity of taking and paying for aResponsible driving awareness course. The monies gathered should be used to help fund extra Police Presence on our roads. This should also apply to cyclists who, from my observations, are in ever increasing numbers, whilst using mobile phones, failing to observe and react to traffic lights showingRedand ride either on the pavements or roads at night without lights as well. This situation is only going to become more prevalent as the younger generation copy the actions of the present generations of thoughtless motorists and cyclists.I really cannot understand why people do this. What phone call or text message is so important it cannot wait until you either arrive or pull over to deal with it ? Im sure a huge % of people are making journeys of less than 60 minutes – you cant be that far from home or wherever.. so what can that call or message possibly contain that cannot wait !?
Homer, you got it wrong. It’s not the content message of the call that’s important, but rather, that someone is paying attention to this self-obsessed idiot. You’re writing about the sort of person who can’t survive more than 10 minutes without getting a “like” or someone responding to their brainless babble about last night’s episode of some TV show featuring other thick heads.
I don’t understand why people feel the need to talk on their phones while driving. I’m quite happy that I can’t be pestered by inane chatter while driving. I can always check my phone when I’ve stopped somewhere. I think the phones should be confiscated and a higher fine introduced.
While I’m definitely on board about not using the phone while driving, a part of the rule is crackers. If you are pulled over and parked, you are still breaking the rules if the engine is running. Sometimes you have to have it running to charge the battery, or be able to use it when the battery is low. If the AA or RAC need to call you and the battery is low, you have to keep the engine running. I have a separate charger because my power socket in the car has gone rusty and no longer works.
I can take calls on my satnav, but generally don’t because that is more of a distraction than pulling over to take a call. As often as not, I leave my mobile at home.
Rwth,
No offence, but unless your car also has a flat battery, then you shouldn’t need to have the engine running. Also, it’s an offence to have your engine running if the car is parked, even without using your mobile. I’d guess it’s partly because having your engine running is having the car “powered” without your full attention being on controlling the vehicle, if you take my meaning? But, in general, Rwth, you’d be unlikely to be prosecuted for having your engine running in order to call the AA or RAC to a breakdown. Anyhow, didn’t you know the law is an ass 😉 ?
The first sentence of this article does mention “extreme circumstances”.
Why don’t people listen bunch of clowns, get a blue tooth item not expensive
Clearly, there needs to be a combination of technology to prevent or restrict hand-held usage whilst driving and far more draconian penalties for all the irresponsible, selfish morons who get caught in the act.
I never use my mobile when driving, but have been caught out when I’ve forgotten to switch the ringer and silent mode vibrator off before starting a long journey. Nothing more distracting than someone who tries to phone you when you’re driving. We’re all so conditioned to answer our mobiles that ignoring them is nigh on impossible. I’d like some way for my mobile to detect when it’s in a vehicle, hospital, or other such place, and have it automatically go to sleep.
Next time you are stopped at traffic lights,look accross the others side of road and see how many peoples eyes are down looking on phones obviously on there laps.
The laws not working, enforcement is not working, self-discipline is not working. So what will it take? If it’s not possible to disable the use of mobile phones within the car, well, it may not be PC to say this, but what about some old fashioned corporal punishment?
It is a lat higher than the 1.1%, just observe on the side of any road with a reasonable amount of traffic.
Very topical for me as earlier this morning my wife was returning fron the suprmarket and became aware of erratic driving by the car following her through a nearby village. From what she could see through the rear view mirror the driver was using his phone.
She had already slowed down approaching a blind corner where locals park on the road then down almost to a dead stop for a car coming towards her on the wrong side of the road as it passed the line of parked vehicles. Laddo went straight into the back of her. Not much damage to ours but front of his Merc in a right mess. So what if that had been a pedestrian? A child?
Fines and points alone don’t work; fines anyway are proprtional to how much money you have and, with younger people, Daddy will often pay anyway. As well as points and fines, any driver caught using a mobile should be banned for a year to three years. In addition they should have to complete a targeted educational course (as per the speeding couse) and required to undertake 100 hours of unpaid community service, in an A&E department, perhaps? Repeat the offence and its a ten year ban . No argument.
It must be said that the (overstretched) police need to divert more resources to enforcing mobile phone use and driving standards in general, especially on the motorways; of course, this can only happen if the Government release enough money to fund it. As the article’s author suggests, the real number of offenders is much higher than the official estimate: half-an-hour as a passenger observing on any UK motorway will confirm this. Unfortunately, in matters like this, the rate of detection is probably a better deterrent than increasing the punishment; if you know there’s a good chance you’ll be caught. More police, please.
We’re not talking here of a momentary lapses of concentration or genuine misjudgements, which happens to all of us from time to time; anyone using a mobile at the wheel has made a deliberate choice to potentially put someone else’s (and their own) life at risk. By doing so, they have shown they are neither mature or responsible enough to hold a driving licence.
As with seat belts and drunk driving, we need a complete change of culture. To achieve this we need the DoT to take an active stance as the old MoT with their campaigns twenty and more years ago.
What needs to change – people should be allowed to speak on the phones while driving. Same as eat, smoke or drink. Currently, all 4 could get you penalty, but only the mobile phones are enforced, so it makes no sense – either enforce all 4 or none. Secondly, it is proven that it is not about holding the phone or looking at road which make a difference, it is that you thinking about something else and not concentrating i.e. “handsfree” doesn’t really helps here. Your mind still somewhere else. We have mobile phones for 2 decades now, so maybe it is finally time to accept them in everyday like, including driving. We already have all the laws in place enforcing the driving – if one doesn’t pay attention they will get charged with “driving without due care and attention”. That is already sufficient, why double charge everyone for simply having conversation or holding the phone. If we really that worried about safety, then we should ban kids in the car, radios in the car, animals in the car, listening to the music, having conversation with the passengers etc. all distractions. Why do single out mobiles as some sort of specific cause?!
Because you are focused on a small screen and have only one hand free for driving. I’ve been hit I’ve The rear by a woman using a mobile. Passengers and music do not distract in the same way.
Anyone found driving whilst using a mobile phone should have their vehicle crushed & banned from driving for life.
I agree using a mobile behind the wheel is wrong and dangerous but I admit to using a mobile while driving. But it is only hands free and only when I need to. I find a sat nav is more distracting as even though you are given oral directions but you often find your looking at the screen to check where your going.
I would never text or use my mobile while driving for anything other than calls. If I do text it’s while I’m parked and If I get a text it can be read out by through the car and if not it can wait till I stop. You can’t concentrate on what’s your doing on a mobile and the road. When driving you need to concentrate all the time as you never know what can happen . People can walk out into the road cars can stop suddenly, Just seconds can make all the difference the faster you go the less time you have to react to things around you.
Maybe using modern electronics a tamper proof telephone signal jammer could be incorporated into the vehicles ignition System, less cost to tax payers instead of issuing Police with expensive tractor units to patrol with. No Signal = no phone use!!!
“Now, our cars protect us more and more, they have special protective elements, from crumple zones to pre-collision sensors and automatic emergency braking”…………I find this sentiment troubling. Of what % of vehicles I see in a day is this true ?
I’m sure my 6 yr old Octavia would be my coffin if I was hit by a 60 mph lorry because the driver was using his mobile.
Any mobile use should attract permanent loss of license, goal & a heavy fine. With out these sanctions nothing will change, just like speeding.
Unless hands free (and I mean hands free, not having to press a button on the phone or screen) then a mobile should not be used in the car period. If it is, then three strikes, and it’s a lifetime driving ban.
There’s a simple solution to all this! make all cars emit a local scramble signal that only effects phones in the vehicle rendering them useless whilst the car is travelling. It could be tied into the bar system! Meanwhile everyone caught using a phone should be banned straight away as are drunk drivers and hopefully insurers will penalise these inconsiderate dangerous drivers.
So no passengers are allowed to use the phone in a car then?
Damn the auto correct on my phone! It should have read a b s system.
If you think someone has had an accident as a result of using a phone just report it, their phone records with their network provider will prove it!
Good idea, Davmag,
Indeed, the police automatically brethalise all drivers involved in an accident, so why not get parliament to make it law that their phone service has to release information on whether the phone was in use.
Ride a motorcycle and you’ll see phones being used to watch films, tv, etc, texting down on the lap, and the odd ‘normal’ phone call too. Far to many drivers are unable to leave the bloody things alone, 1st offence crush the phone, second offence crush the car and the phone, third offence crush the driver live on their phone in the car?
Spoken like a true Biker
Zoggie would wire um up in an electric chair! So would I, you ride past an see txt on lap, just this afternoon in the car a lycra lout looking at his phone, ran on my side of the road, would have been a head on if I hadn’t beeped.
Immediate loss of License and 13 months ban. Then they have to do their test again. Sick sore and tired of seeing mobile phone use in cars
definitely should be stricter have witnessed and almost been run over by fools on phones i agree with bishbut
FINES DEFINITELY SHOULD GET STRICTER, I AM A COMMUNITY SUPPORT WORKER DRIVING REGULARLY ON THE ROAD ALL DAY MON-FRI. I AM APPALLEDED AT THE AMOUNT OF DRIVERS I SEE WITH THEIR MOBILES IN THEIR HANDS. IF I HAD MY WAY I WOULD GIVE THEM A BAN……..
Until the offence carries a “properly” serious consequence then, with the almost total lack of law enforcement, muppets will continue to use phones at the wheel.
How about a minimum 30 days confiscation of the phone and car and a nice heavy fine.. maybe be based on your ability to pay… Im open to suggestions..