New research led by the OU aims to improve road safety by challenging the perception that hands-free phone use by drivers is ‘safe’.
Latest government figures show that by the close of 2021, 20 people were killed and 616 injured in collisions in Great Britain where mobile phone use was recorded as a contributory factor.
It is not an offence to use hands-free mobiles while driving but a free interactive online course, based on the research findings of Prof Gemma Briggs, and her team, shows drivers how unsafe and distracting it can be.
Gemma says the death figures don’t give the whole picture:
“The data is notoriously problematic due to how contributory factors are assessed and recorded and, of course, this only covers illegal hand-held phone use.”
Now she is leading research in a collaboration with the Universities of Keele and Staffordshire thanks to £24,000 funding from the Road Safety Trust that will eventually help police educate drivers they stop.
Researchers will work closely with policing partners from West Mercia and West Midlands Police forces.
They will survey officers’ experiences of interacting with offenders caught using handheld-phones while driving and measure officers’ knowledge and awareness of research findings on the dangers of hands-free phone use, too.
Why the research is important
The research is important because it will help identify common reactions from mobile phone offenders, and the advice police give them.
It is hoped that this work will support officers in interactions with offenders and provide them with evidence-based responses to common challengers.
Gemma says today’s mobile phone law, allowing the use of hands-free phones while driving, is outdated, despite recent updates aimed at tightening up definitions of ‘phone use’.
The problem with the current law
She says legislators need to think again as the current law only bans the use of hand-held mobile phones whilst driving, not the use of hands-free mobiles.
She adds that this may be driven by the relatively low number of casualties directly associated with phone use, compared with other offences such as speeding.
Gemma says:
“I’d argue that 20 deaths is worth talking about, but I think these numbers are unlikely to make people sit up and listen as it suggests it’s a small-scale issue compared to things like drink driving or speeding.
“However, this is the tip of the iceberg – these numbers only reflect those incidents which were reported to and attended by police, where phone use could be proven.
“It is likely that there are far more incidents attributable to phone use, including widespread hands-free phone use.”
She said:
“We know that approximately 40 per cent of motorists claim to regularly use their hands-free phones, and research has clearly demonstrated that hands-free phone use leads to similar distraction to illegal hand-held use.
“Yet any collision a hands-free phone user is involved in is unlikely to be attributed to phone use. Many will be categorised as ‘driver error’, meaning deaths and injuries directly linked to phone use are not reliably recorded as such, therefore minimising the scale of the problem.”
“Importantly, five people die every day on UK roads and 60 more are seriously injured. With self-reported phone use increasing, it is very likely that driver distraction in both illegal and legal forms plays a role in these deaths and injuries.”
If you want to discover whether talking on the phone while driving affects your ability to spot hazards on the road, check out the free interactive OpenLearn course Are you a focused driver?
Picture credit: Anetlanda for Shutterstock
