Driving & Using a Mobile Phone - December 2009

This regularly updated section of the HomeApproved web site will cover the latest trends, research, opinion and developments in the UK car insurance sector. 

High Insurance Premiums for Convicted Mobile Phone Motorists
Why is it the case that despite a toughening of legislation, a third of all UK motorists admit to illegally using their mobile phones? Apart from the fact that this is illegal in addition to the safety issues.

According to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) more drivers are using hand-held mobile phones than before tougher penalties were introduced two years ago. It found 2.6% of car drivers used hand-held phones in 2006 - when fines rose to £60 and three points could be added to licence's - compared with 2.8% now. Phone-using drivers are four times more likely to crash, the TRL added. Drivers who use a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free:

1. are much less aware of what’s happening on the road around them
2. fail to see road signs
3. fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed
4. are more likely to ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front
5. react more slowly and take longer to brake
6. are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic
7. feel more stressed and frustrated.

They are also four times more likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves and/or other people.

Paying 'More' for your Car Insurance Premiums
Drivers with a mobile conviction could pay 55% more for their car insurance than drivers without a conviction. Furthermore, some insurance companies refuse to insure drivers who were caught using the mobile behind the wheel.

Other research findings have revealed that young drivers aged 20 were the worst offenders. In the United Kingdom as a whole, London drivers appeared to admit using a mobile phone illegally more than any other region.

ENDS

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