We Need To Talk About Handsfree

1 February 2024

We Need To Talk About Handsfree : Officer understanding of the dangers of handsfree and handheld mobile phone use by drivers.

This project was funded by The Road Safety Trust to explore the issue of a potential displacement effect from handheld to handsfree phone use, police officer understanding of the dangers of handsfree phone use, and how this understanding impacted on their interactions with drivers observed using their mobile phone.

The scope included measuring officer attitudes to phone use and their behaviour with offenders, both before and after receiving some education on the dangers of handsfree phone use.

Police officers from across England and Wales were recruited to participate in an online survey which measured their attitude and experiences relating to mobile phone use by drivers. Having completed the survey, officers were asked to complete an evidence-based interactive activity which highlights the dangers of handsfree phone use. They were then surveyed again, to enable a comparison of attitude measures pre- and post- exposure to education. In addition to the online survey, a further group of officers completed in-person interviews with a member of the research team. Interviews followed the same approach as the survey.

Analysis of both the quantitative survey data and the qualitative interview data allowed the team to identify key differences in attitude following exposure to education. Key themes in the data revealed that prior to education many officers considered that the main issue with phone use is the manual and visual distraction it imposes, and that handsfree phone use is a safe alternative to illegal phone use. Data also revealed that officers felt discretion is needed when considering prosecution due to feelings of fairness, the type of phone use witnessed and future potential police-public interactions.