RoSPA has been actively campaigning since 1997 about the dangers posed by drivers who continue to drive whilst placing, receiving or holding conversations on a mobile phone. The campaign is based on an analysis of all the available evidence - RoSPA has reviewed a comprehensive collection of academic research papers on mobile phone use by drivers. This article summarises the main issues raised by the research. The mobile phone industry is growing rapidly - with the annual number of new mobile phone subscriptions in the USA being greater than the birth rate in the last few years. The massive increase in mobile phone use is mainly due to the plummeting cost of purchasing a mobile, with some phones even being offered free with phone network subscriptions. RoSPA is concerned, however, that as mobile phones are often sold with in-car kits included in the package, people may be encouraged to use their phone whilst driving. Doing this can distract drivers and result in accidents which could have been avoided otherwise. Though mobile phones have several benefits, the evidence suggests that ‘driver distraction’ (including the driver’s use of hands-held or hands-free phones) is the largest single contributory factor for all ‘tow-away’ collisions in the USA. Researchers specialising in driver attention, behaviour and the analysis of road traffic accidents have had substantial reservations about mobile phone use by drivers for the last twenty-eight years, leading to several countries e.g. Brazil, Israel and Australia, and some USA states, imposing legislation against the use of mobile phones by drivers. (Author/publisher)
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