When driving, switch off your phone – and avoid the consequences

24 January 2012

Kent County Council (KCC) Road Safety team is launching a campaign this week aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of using a mobile phone when driving and asking drivers to switch their phone off, before setting off. The campaign will be seen across the county in cinemas, on buses and heard on local radio stations.

Many drivers in Kent are still tempted to use their mobile phones while driving. A survey carried out by KCC showed that 10% of Kent drivers admitted to using a hand-held mobile phone, 44% admitted to using a hands-free mobile phone, while driving. However, the survey also showed that 53% of drivers felt one of the things that places them at great risk of a serious crash is other drivers using mobile phones.

It is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone when driving and if caught, it will result in three points and a £60 fine. Drivers involved in a serious crash when using a mobile phone could be prosecuted for causing Death by Dangerous Driving, which can lead to up to 14 years imprisonment, together with an unlimited fine, disqualification from driving for at least two years and a mandatory extended driving test. Over the past four years, Kent Police has issued more than 20,000 fixed penalty notices for drivers caught using a mobile.

The campaign also highlights serious concern for those drivers who think they are safe by opting for the legal option of hands-free. Using a hands-free mobile phone maybe legal but it does not mean it is safe; driving is still impaired. Drivers involved in a serious crash when using a hands-free phone could be prosecuted for Causing Death by Careless Driving if it is judged the driving was impaired. This could lead to up to five years in prison, together with a fine of up to £5,000 and disqualification from driving for at least 12 months.

Bryan Sweetland, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste, supports the campaign. He said: “Clearly anything that drivers do to place themselves or others at unnecessary risk is cause for concern. It only takes a moment’s inattention on the road for tragedy to strike.”

Research shows that using phones makes people’s driving more dangerous, slowing response times, impairing concentration and taking attention from the road. It has an even bigger effect on drivers’ reactions than being at the drink drive limit and the distraction is much worse than talking to a passenger.

Steve Horton, Kent County Council Road Safety Team Leader, said: “Many drivers may think it must be okay to make a phone call because they think it’s no different to talking to a passenger but there are huge differences.

“A passenger will soon alert the driver to a possible crash situation if they don’t think the driver has spotted it, but someone on the end of a phone will just keep on talking and taking the driver’s attention away from what they really should be concentrating on.”

And it is not just for the duration of a call that phones can cause problems. Research suggests that after ending a phone conversation, the driver will re-play aspects of the call and will be thinking about it for a further five minutes or so – meaning the impairment effect of a phone call when driving can last far beyond the call itself.

Independent psychologist Dr Ian Walker, a specialist in transport behavioural issues, who has worked with KCC in the past, said:

“A team of scientists pulled together all the evidence on using phones when driving and it was really clear that phone calls slow down drivers’ reactions and make their driving more erratic. Hands-free devices do not help either, and in some cases make things worse.”