Mobile Phones & Driving

Mobile phones can be an essential means of communication when you are away from the office or home and for motorists they can be an important security asset in the event of an emergency.  However, using a mobile phone while driving will distract your attention from the road and driving today requires your concentration all of the time.   Drivers using a mobile phone, whether hand held or hands free whilst driving: • Substantially increases  the risk of the driver crashing. • Are less likely to spot danger ahead by 30%. • Lowers your reaction time by 50%. • Are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic. • Are much less aware of other traffic and what’s happening on the road around them. • Fail to see road signs • React more slowly and take longer to brake and longer to stop. • Fail to maintain appropriate following distances from any vehicles in front. • Fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed. • Are more likely to “tailgate” the vehicle in front • Feel more stressed and frustrated. It is unsafe to use a hand held mobile phone whilst driving, also using a hands free phone will distract your concentration and impair safe driving, even when driving an automatic car.  Smart phones making easy access to the internet and social media sites like Facebook or Twitter mean that drivers are not just making brief calls or texts anymore, but they are spending longer periods of time updating status posts when they should be concentrating on the road. Using a mobile phone causes greater problems to drivers who already have a higher accident risk, for example young novice and elderly drivers.  Your risk of being involved in a collision by a momentary lapse in concentration whilst driving could be devasting, injuring or killing yourself or others.  Your risk is four times higher when using a mobile phone than when not using one.   Problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving. Only use your phone after you have stopped in a safe place, use your voicmail or message service so you can pick up messages later.    

When you are driving: • Switch off your phone. • Let a passenger make or answer a call. • Use a message service. If you really have to receive a call, say that you are driving and keep the conversation brief, tell them you will call them back when it is safe.  Find a safe place to park in order to make calls or check for messages. • It is illegal to use a hand held mobile phone whilst driving. • It is also illegal for anyone supervising learner drivers to use a hand held mobile phone. • It is illegal to stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency. • At petrol stations always switch off your phone. KILL THE CONVERSATION - NOT YOURSELF

TEXTING IS FUN - ISN’T IT? The driver of the car below was texting when he hit the lorry. The mobile phone was still in his hand, but his head was on the back seat!!!

MISSING A CALL WON’T KILL YOU. A CRASH POSSIBLY COULD? It’s a bad call Why bugs hit windscreens

| Walmsley Driving School | www.wds1.karoo.net  Hull| Driving Lessons | Hull | Learner | Advanced | Pass Plus | Diamond Advanced Instructor | Refresher Courses | Competitive Prices | Learn to drive |Driving tuition| Chris Walmsley | IAM | DIA | RoSPA | Motorway Lessons | wds1.karoo.net | High quality tuition | Best | Premier | HU2 | HU3 | HU5 | HU7 | HU8 | HU9 | HU11 | HU12 | HU16 |