- Drivers supportive of greater enforcement – and even tougher
laws – to clamp down on dangerous use of mobile phones by drivers
On the day drivers face six penalty points and a £200 fine if
they are caught using a handheld phone at the wheel for virtually
any reason after a loophole in the law was closed, new RAC
research shows four-in-10 (43%) aren’t aware of the changes being
introduced and just 2% believe it will be very effective in
improving driver behaviour.
Before today, a loophole existed where drivers might only receive
a maximum of three penalty points and a £100 fine for using a
handheld phone for actions that didn’t involve any form of
telecommunication – for instance, for scrolling through music
playlists or taking a photo or video. In November 2021, the Government
confirmed that the law would be toughened to ensure almost
any use of a handheld phone would be punishable with six points
and a £200 fine.
While most of the 2,000 drivers surveyed by the RAC (75%) are
fully supportive of the change in the law, many are sceptical as
to how effective it will be in getting offending drivers to
change their behaviour and make the roads safer. Just 2% of
drivers said they thought it will be ‘very effective’, with 49%
thinking it would be ‘partly effective’ and a similar proportion
– 45% – saying it won’t be effective.
Of those who have concerns the roads won’t be made safer by the
changes that come in today, 86% say that it’s because some
drivers will always persist in using a phone illegally regardless
of the law, while seven-in-10 (70%) say the problem is drivers
don’t feel they’re likely to get caught in the first place.
Nearly three-in-10 (28%) fear not enough will be done to let
drivers know about the changes.
When it comes to what drivers think needs to be done to reduce
the number of people using a handheld phone illegally at the
wheel, drivers are split. Almost equal proportions believe that
more visible police enforcement (23%), a high-profile advertising
campaign (24%) and even tougher laws (26%) – such as the threat
of a driver losing their licence altogether if caught. A fifth
meanwhile (20%) would like to see cameras used to catch drivers
acting illegally.
RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis: “It’s clear that most drivers are
supportive of the law being strengthened to make it easier to
prosecute drivers who put lives at risk by using a handheld phone
– after all, using a phone to take a photo or look at a playlist
is at least as distracting as using it to talk or text.
“But while we welcome today’s law change and very much hope it
will make a difference, it’s arguable that it will only be truly
effective if it’s rigorously enforced. If some drivers still
don’t feel they’re likely to be caught, then simply making the
law tougher isn’t going to have the desired effect of making our
roads safer. That explains why such a tiny proportion of drivers
– just 2% - think the new changes will be very effective in
changing behaviour.
“The dial really needs to be turned up when it comes to
enforcement, and that means police forces having the resources
and technology they need to more easily catch those drivers that
continue to flout the law. Cameras that can automatically detect
handheld phone use exist and are in use in other countries, so we
think it’s high time the UK Government evaluated this technology
with a view to allowing police forces to deploy it at the
earliest opportunity.”
Previous research for the RAC Report on Motoring found that more
than one-in-10 younger drivers admitted to taking a photo or
video while driving, while 6% said they had played a game on a
handheld phone while at the wheel.**
Ends
Notes to Editors
* Research conducted by the RAC among 2,000 UK drivers between 18
and 21 March 2022
** Source: RAC Report on Motoring
