TRL has carried out a series of surveys on behalf of the Department for Transport into the use of mobile phones by drivers of cars and other motor vehicles, most recently in October 2007 and September 2008. The surveys were conducted at 30 sites in the South East of England that were chosen to represent the full range of conditions on British roads. They included motorways, dual carriageways and single carriageway roads and were located in towns, villages and on country roads. The single carriageway roads included A, B, C and Unclassified roads. The speed limits varied from 20mph to 70mph. Observers were equipped with an electronic device that detects the microwave radiation emitted by both hand-held and hands-free mobile phones. Despite combining visual and electronic detection, the observers may have been unable to detect some phone use and the figures below could under-estimate the actual level of use. The observers recorded the total number of drivers, the number who were using hand-held phones and the number who were using hands-free phones. Car drivers were recorded separately from the drivers of other vehicles. (Author/publisher)
Abstract