Hands-free phones should be banned while driving: MPs
People could be banned from using hands-free devices on their mobile phones while driving, under new recommendations put forward by a group of MPs.
Despite the “misleading impression” that using hands-free devices is safe, it actually carries “the same risk of collision”, the Transport Select Committee said.
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While criminalising hands-free phone use and enforcing the ban would be challenging, “this does not mean that we should not do it”, the report published this morning said.
“The evidence shows that using a hands-free device creates the same risks of a collision as using a hand-held device, and it is therefore inappropriate for the law to condone it by omission,” the report said.
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Using hand-held phones while driving was banned in 2003, and now carries a maximum punishment of six penalty points and a £200 fine. However the report noted it was “still troublingly widespread and can have catastrophic consequences”, pointing to the 773 casualties in 2017 where use of a mobile phone was “a contributory factor”.
“If using a mobile phone while driving is to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving, there needs to be a step change in the government’s approach to public education. If this is to successfully change public behaviour, it is important that the government educates the public about why using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous, not just that it is against the law
The MPs recommend a government review and public consultation on the issue by the end of the year.
Main image: Getty