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A survey carried out to mark the first
anniversary of increased penalties for using mobile phones while
driving hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of doing just
that - 11th March 2008
27th February 2008 saw the first anniversary
of increased fines for using mobile phones at the wheel.
Research carried out by YouGov
during February to mark the anniversary found that three
quarters of people think that people using their phone whilst
driving are needlessly putting themselves and others at
increased risk of
car accidents.
The poll also showed that 90 percent thought
that using a mobile whilst driving had a negative effect.
The £1.5 million pound
THINK! campaign
marking the first anniversary of the increased penalties was
carried out the raise awareness of the dangers of driving whilst
using a mobile phone.
Research has found that drivers using a
phone are four times more likely to be involved in a
road accident, which in turn could lead to
unnecessary injuries or worse, prosecution and increased
insurance premiums after a
road accident claim.
The fines for using a hand held mobile phone
whilst driving was doubled on 27th February 2007 from £30 to £60
and with 3 penalty points also issued. The same penalty applies
to drivers not having proper control of a vehicle; this can
apply to drivers distracted by hands free mobile phones.
The YouGov poll of what people think of
mobile phone usage whist driving showed that: - 2% aren't
concerned. 60% get annoyed. 84% of people over 55 think it's
totally unacceptable. 49% of people aged 18-24 also think its
unacceptable. 77% of women think it is a needless risk with 69%
of men agreeing. 63% of Northerners feel annoyed when they see
it happening. 67% of Londoners don't think it's needlessly
risking the safety of them and others.
80% of Scots think it is dangerous at any
time. Police are taking the matter seriously despite a
TRL survey on behalf of the
DfT observing instances
dropping, with offences in 2007 for using hand held phones up
over 15,000 on the previous year to 185,639.
The message is simple, don't use your mobile
while driving, turn it off or ignore it, voice mail will take
any important messages, these can wait until the journey has
finished or stopped for a break.
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