4 November 2005
Almost a quarter of drivers still use a hand-held mobile phone to make calls while behind the wheel, a survey has found - with the associated safety and legal risks serving as a reminder that it is better to make a call using your home phone before you set out.
There are also calls for the provision of hands-free kits with every mobile phone sold to be made mandatory in a bid to cut out one of the most hazardous practices taking place on today's roads.
Whatcar.com found that 8.6 per cent of motorists use their mobile phone regularly when driving, and a further 8.8 per cent admitted to doing so but have pledged to stop.
Steve Fowler, group editor of What Car?, said that measures must be put in place to drive these figures downwards.
He said: "It doesn't matter if you're only making a quick call - hand-held phones are dangerously distracting.
"We'd like to see a hands-free kit provided with every new phone sold by law, and more traffic police on the roads to enforce mobile phone laws, which will eventually put penalty points on licences."
The figures tell a different story to those issued by the Department for Transport in April, which suggested that only 1.5 per cent of drivers still drive with mobile in hand.
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