Is Mobile Phone Use The New Drink Driving?

Mobile Phone Use Affects Driving More Than Alcohol

Recent statistics indicate that using a mobile phone while driving impairs your reaction time even more than drinking alcohol does.

This is a startling development because it seems that the majority of motorists don’t consider using their phones to be a big deal.

Over 30% of drivers admit having used their phones while driving, and it seems that smart phones are exacerbating the problem.

With a mobile phone constantly chirping, attracting your attention whatever you are doing, it stands to reason that there is a temptation to respond to whatever the device demands.

Making calls using hands free has been shown to distract drivers to a lesser extent, but we face a world where drivers are prepared to read text messages and emails while behind the wheel, causing them to look down and be distracted for valuable seconds.

As we get older, it takes longer for our eyes to be able to refocus from a small phone screen back onto the road & when combined with the driver concentrating on the contents of the message received, it often leads to loss of control and accidents…. a growing number of them fatal.

No one needs to die on our roads and everything we can do to allow everyone to arrive at their destination safely can only be a good thing. However, the temptation to check your phone whilst on the move can sometimes be too strong a lure and it’s easy to get caught or to be accused of using your phone while driving when you actually weren’t doing so.

Many police officers don’t take the time to gather evidence at the time of the offence (which they are actually required to do)  often giving motorists some wriggle room defending the alleged offence. If you think you might have a potential defence but aren’t totally sure how best to proceed, ask pattersonlaw.co.uk who offer free advice in the first instance.

With so many points on offer for mobile phone offences, it never been more important to defend your licence whenever you can.