New data about phone use while driving from the Department for Transport (DfT), shows that van drivers are twice as likely to use a hand-held device.
Based on a survey carried out last year, the report reveals that in Great Britain, 1% of drivers were observed using a hand-held mobile phone while driving.
However, van drivers as a subcategory were found to be using phones at the wheel twice as often as car drivers, with 1.9% of van drivers compared to 0.8% of car drivers. Similar results were found in surveys from 2014 and 2017.
2.2% of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers were found to be using hand-held mobile phones while driving – using phones at the wheel even more often than van drivers.
However, the number of vehicles other than cars and vans observed was relatively low (for example, only 472 taxi or private hire vehicles were observed in a total sample of 26,497).
The sample size for vehicles other than cars and vans was relatively small, with only 472 taxi or private hire car vehicles observed in the total sample of 26,497.
The survey found that male drivers were more likely to be observed using a hand-held mobile phone while driving than female drivers – 1.2% of males vs 0.8% of females, although when comparing only car drivers, these percentages are much closer with 0.9% of males vs 0.8% of females observed using a hand-held mobile phone while driving.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “It’s concerning there has been an increase in the proportion of drivers observed using handheld mobile phones at the wheel since 2017.
“Historically, when the Government stiffens penalties, there is a drop in illegal phone use before old habits begin to creep back in again. While many drivers would like to see the penalties increased further, we believe the Government should be rolling out new camera enforcement technology similar as is already used several other countries such as Australia and the Netherlands.
“We believe this technology would be an important tool for reducing the number of unnecessary lives tragically lost on our roads each year because of this dangerous and illegal habit.”
Looking at this graph from the DfT report, it shows noticeable declines in phone use come when the government strengthens the rules against and increases penalties for hand-held mobile phone use while driving, although there has been a trend of gradual increase in phone use at the wheel after the sharp declines following law and pentalty changes.
New laws have been created, and existing ones strengthened in recent years, with the most recent changes closing loopholes and making it illegal to use a phone at the wheel in almost any circumstances.
Hand-held mobile phone use while at the wheel continues despite these changes, however. What can organisations do to reduce the risk of hand-held mobile phone use and other dangerous behaviour in their drivers?
If you work directly with a fleet of drivers, you are in a powerful position to have a positive impact on road safety in the UK. By implementing driver training or fleet-risk management, you can boost the safety of your own fleet, as well as the safety of our roads for all who use them.
CHOICES is our fleet risk management portal – designed to analyse your fleet, giving a risk score to the fleet as a whole as well as individual drivers. Drivers are scored based on their attitudes, knowledge, previous convictions and behaviour. Some of your drivers may be flagged as high risk – we would recommend giving them further training to develop their skills.
Get in touch for more information about how IAM RoadSmart can help your protect your people, assets, and organisation.
