Drivers don't have to talk to flout phone laws

A shocking 45 per cent of car drivers admit to sending and receiving text messages while driving, research by the RAC Foundation shows.

The RAC Foundation surveyed 2,000 users of social networking website Facebook on the first anniversary of the introduction of tougher penalties for using a mobile while driving.

The research shows that young drivers are the most likely to text while driving, with 21 per cent regularly reading and replying to text messages in moving traffic.

A further 19 per cent of those surveyed admit that they will send a text message while stuck in traffic, with 44 per cent of respondents stating they leave their phones switched on while driving, but would only respond to texts after pulling over.

Only five per cent of drivers interviewed said they would read a text while driving, but not reply, with the final 11 per cent switching their handset off, or putting it in silent mode.

Elizabeth Dainton, a research development manager at the Foundation, says the research highlights a worrying new trend in the use of mobile phones in cars.

 “At the moment, the Department for Transport is still focussed on people talking while driving,” Dainton said, pointing out that sending a text message can be just as dangerous as making a call.

The RAC Foundation is set to undertake further research into the risks of mobile phone usage while driving, in conjunction with the Transport Research Laboratory.

Dainton adds any research could include studies on the likely impact phone usage while driving has on vulnerable road users like motorcyclists, noting that it can take “a split second,” for a driver to wipe out bikers.