Mobile Phone Use Whilst Driving

We all have a mobile phone, whether for work or social purposes – or both, and usually it is our main form of communication throughout the day with our friends and colleagues. In today’s hectic lifestyle everything seems to have a sense of urgency. In years gone by, if travelling in our car we would have had no choice but to wait until, for example, reaching the office before making that all important phone call, but we are now faced with the very real temptation of doing so whilst en route. With deadlines to meet, a social life to organise, or a work email that requires an urgent response, for some people the urge to pick up their mobile phone and start pressing is just too much to resist. We all know we shouldn’t and yet seem unable to comprehend the danger we are putting ourselves and others in as soon as we pick up that mobile phone whilst driving.

The risks

It cannot be denied that having a mobile phone with you whilst travelling in the car can have huge benefits. If you breakdown, get lost, or get stuck in hazardous weather conditions, it can be hugely advantageous to, once the engine is turned off, pick up the phone and call for assistance. However, the risk of using a mobile phone whilst the engine is still running, and whilst you are driving along, cannot be underestimated. It is thought that doing this can be as dangerous as driving whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As soon as you pick up your mobile phone while driving you have taken your eye off of the road, your concentration has been affected and your ability to manually handle your vehicle has been severely compromised. Your reactions will slow down and the attention you are paying to the road ahead will be severely reduced.

The affects of this lack of concentration, inability to properly handle your vehicle and reduced attention to the road ahead can, and all do often does, have disastrous consequences. Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads as a result of drivers using mobile phones whilst driving which results in them causing a collision or being able to take evasive action to avoid a collision taking place. The statistics are frightening and mobile phone use while driving is responsible for a huge amount of serious, and often fatal, accidents on an all too frequent basis.

The penalties

It is an offence to hold and operate a mobile phone whilst driving and anyone caught doing so will face a fine and even a prison sentence. With the consequences of mobile phone use whilst driving being potentially life threatening, you cannot – and should not – expect to get off lightly if you are caught doing so. It is vital for the safety of yourself as a driver, and for the sake all other road users, that you leave your mobile phone safely put away until the engine is switched off and the phone can be used without risk of adding to the terrifying statistics of death and injury on our roads caused by driving whilst using a mobile phone.

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