Calling Time On Hands-Free? Government Considers Blanket Ban On Mobile Phone Use While Driving

"There is a misleading impression that hands-free mobile use is safe. The reality is that any use of a phone distracts from a driver's ability to pay full attention, and the government should consider extending the ban to reflect this."1

As the government considers calls for a complete ban on hands-free mobile use while driving, we look at the impact of mobile phone use on driving and whether such a move is necessary to challenge current attitudes and make the roads safer for everyone.

Key statistics

Since 2003 it has been an offence to use a hand-held mobile phone or other hand-held device while driving2. However, the offence as presently drafted only applies to hand-held devices and hands-free phones are not currently included, due to perceived enforcement difficulties.

It is uncontroversial that driving while using a mobile phone impairs the ability to drive safely and increases the risk of a collision3. In 2017 there were 773 casualties, including 43 fatalities and 135 serious injuries, in road traffic collisions where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor in the crash4.

Yet while the number of people killed or seriously injured in such incidents has increased since 2011, the rate of enforcement regarding phone use has fallen by more than two-thirds over the same period5.

In March 2019 the Transport Select Committee launched an inquiry into road safety, inviting views on the government's current approach and suggestions on what interventions would be most effective at reducing the number and severity of road traffic collisions. Several submissions highlighted the issue of driving while using a mobile phone as an area of concern and indeed, on the face of it, the statistics support the concerns.

Impact of hands-free devices

Although the offence is framed around the use of a hand-held device, research shows that using any mobile phone or other device while driving—whether hand-held or not—is a distraction that is detrimental to a driver's ability to drive safely. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has said that drivers who use a mobile phone6:

are much less aware of what's happening on the road around them; fail to see road signs; fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed; are more likely to "tailgate" the vehicle in front; react more slowly, take longer to brake and longer to stop; are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic; and feel more stressed and frustrated. Indeed, a 2016...