Road safety lobbyist Brake is again pushing for a ban on all mobile phone use while driving following new research that found 45% of drivers admit to still using their phones while driving, down from 54% in 2006.
It also shows that hand-held phone driving has dropped to 13%, from 36%, while hands-free phone driving has increased to 38%, from 22% in 2006.
Over the same period the number of people killed or injured on Britain’s roads dropped by 24%.
Brake believes the lack of a total ban has left many drivers unaware that using a hands-free mobile at the wheel is just as risky as using a hand-held.
“It is shocking that, 10 years after the ban, one-in-eight drivers continues to flout the law and put lives in danger by using a hand-held mobile at the wheel,” said Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, of Brake.
“Just as worrying is the widespread belief that using a hands-free kit is a safe alternative. Don’t kid yourself: it’s not.
“Using a hands-free phone while driving can end and ruin lives just as surely as using a phone hand-held, and no phone call or text is worth a life. The Government needs to act now to stop this risky behaviour.”
