Tune in to Road Safety Week 2013! - Day Four
It’s day 4 of national Road Safety Week! To help us all ‘Tune In’ to road safety, Field Fisher Waterhouse in conjunction with Brake are providing information about the various distractions that can affect us when driving, along with advice about how to avoid these distractions.
Distractions come in many forms, one of which is using a mobile when driving. Driving whilst using a handheld phone is illegal in the UK, though many people still do it, and the reason why driving whilst on a handheld is illegal is because it is so distracting. Indeed, studies have shown we’re 4x more likely to be involved in a crash when we’re on the phone.
What many people don’t realise, though, is it’s not just handheld phones that can be dangerous. Hands-free phones can be just as distracting, as it’s concentrating on our call, rather than the road ahead, which poses the greatest risk. When we’re talking to a passenger, a passenger can see the road ahead and stop talking when we near a hazard/junction etc.; this doesn’t happen when we’re talking to someone on the phone. In fact, studies show that a hands-free kit can be just as distracting as a handheld phone when driving.
Brake’s advice is to keep our personal mobile phones out of sight and out of mind when we’re driving, so that the temptation to use the phone just isn’t there. We also suggest setting up a voicemail message making callers aware that you’re driving, promising to call them back as soon as it is safe to do so (for instance, setting aside a bit of time in your journey to pull over safely and respond to calls).
To make a personal commitment to staying ‘Silent’ whilst driving, and keeping the mobile out of sight and out of mind, visit the Brake site and sign our Pledge to drive safely today!
Distractions come in many forms, one of which is using a mobile when driving. Driving whilst using a handheld phone is illegal in the UK, though many people still do it, and the reason why driving whilst on a handheld is illegal is because it is so distracting. Indeed, studies have shown we’re 4x more likely to be involved in a crash when we’re on the phone.
What many people don’t realise, though, is it’s not just handheld phones that can be dangerous. Hands-free phones can be just as distracting, as it’s concentrating on our call, rather than the road ahead, which poses the greatest risk. When we’re talking to a passenger, a passenger can see the road ahead and stop talking when we near a hazard/junction etc.; this doesn’t happen when we’re talking to someone on the phone. In fact, studies show that a hands-free kit can be just as distracting as a handheld phone when driving.
Brake’s advice is to keep our personal mobile phones out of sight and out of mind when we’re driving, so that the temptation to use the phone just isn’t there. We also suggest setting up a voicemail message making callers aware that you’re driving, promising to call them back as soon as it is safe to do so (for instance, setting aside a bit of time in your journey to pull over safely and respond to calls).
To make a personal commitment to staying ‘Silent’ whilst driving, and keeping the mobile out of sight and out of mind, visit the Brake site and sign our Pledge to drive safely today!