Fear of being caught must rise, says IAM RoadSmart as hundreds of thousands continue to flout mobile phone and seatbelt laws
The UK’s biggest independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart is concerned that too many drivers continue to ignore warnings about the dangers of hand-held mobile phones and not wearing a seatbelt – putting countless lives in danger.
This follows the results of a major Department of Transport survey today (7 February) revealing hundreds of thousands of motorists were still ignoring seatbelt and mobile phone usage laws in 2017.
The survey (reference 1) found that in 2017, 1.1% of all vehicle drivers were observed using a hand-held mobile phone while driving on weekdays in Great Britain, of which 0.4% were observed holding the phone to their ear, with twice as many (0.8%) spotted holding the phone in their hand.
The worst offenders were taxi/private hire drivers (3.3%), followed by van drivers (2.1%) then car drivers (1%).
While there is good news that seatbelt wearing rates remain high with 96.5% of all vehicle drivers observed using a seatbelt on weekdays in 2017, that means 3.5% of all vehicle drivers are choosing not to wear a seatbelt which can be a matter of life and death if you are involved in a collision.
Seatbelt used varied with 93.1% of front seat passengers and 90.7% of rear seat passengers buckling up in Great Britain. For car drivers, 98.6% were observed using a seatbelt in Great Britain in 2017.
Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “In spite of these being small percentages, this still amounts to hundreds of thousands of people who daily flout the law and put themselves and others at risk.
“The best way of tackling this ever-present issue is to make people believe there is a high chance of being caught. This could start tomorrow if consistent guidelines on using mobile speed camera vans to enforce seatbelt and mobile phones laws were issued.
“Currently there is no standard approach on using this high-profile resource across the UK. Making non-wearing of seatbelts an endorsable offence is also a quick win. Not only would it persuade more people to take the offence seriously, but it might tempt them to take a seatbelt awareness course. People avoid using seatbelts for a wide range of individual reasons and these views need to be challenged face-to-face.”
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Notes to editors:
Further information from:
IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 – press.office@iam.org.uk
ISDN broadcast lines available
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On Twitter: @IAMRoadSmart
IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.
To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com
To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://wwwiamroadsmart.com/local-groups
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