RoSPA welcomes the ban on using handheld mobile phones for any purpose whilst driving.
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Rebecca Needham, Road Safety Officer for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said:
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Drivers holding their phone are gambling with their own lives and the safety of others - as they are four times more likely to crash *. In 2020, there were 368 collisions of all severities where use of a mobile phone was a contributory factor.
The 2003 legislation, which initially banned mobile phone use while driving, was brought into being before the age of the smartphone. There is now a considerable number of potential distractions, such as mobile phones and infotainment systems, which can divert the driver’s attention away from the road.
Today’s announcement ** further underscores the importance of clear and enforceable penalties for distracted drivers, this will help change the belief that holding a phone is consequence free. Using a mobile phone behind the wheel has been shown to reflect a deep-seated and irresponsible attitude rather than an in the moment reaction.
For more than a century RoSPA has been at the forefront of making our roads safer, having campaigned for changes in the law to make wearing a seatbelt in a moving vehicle mandatory, drink-driving illegal and more recently banning the use of handheld mobile phones while driving.
To read more about RoSPA’s position on mobile phone use whilst driving head here: https://www.rospa.com/media/documents/road-safety/consultation-responses/RoSPA-response-to-DfT-mobile-phone-consultation.pdf
* WHO ?Mobile phone use: a growing problem of driver distraction’
** Ipsos MORI & DfT (2021) ?Research on the use of mobile phones while driving’
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-on-the-use-of-mobile-phones-while-driving
