Drivers urged to park up to use their mobile phone

24 February 2023

As part of Warwickshire’s Road Safety Partnership ‘Strategy to 2030'  and a national campaign taking place between 20 February and 12 March, Warwickshire Police are urging drivers to park up to use their mobile phone so they can give their friends, family, work or the task they are doing their full attention.

Good drivers are good because they are completely focused on the road. It’s not rocket science. However a survey, carried out for the RAC Report on Motoring 2020 indicated that the growing popularity of FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Snapchat for video calls is posing a new and present danger on the UK’s roads.

Alarmingly, the survey also found that 29% of drivers of all ages in 2020 said they make and receive calls on handheld phones when driving, with younger drivers more likely to do so (42%) and those in the 25 to 44 age group also statistically more likely to break the law (32%).

This may be because drivers don’t want to miss out on what friends are wearing, eating or watching, but what they may not realise, is that by using a handheld mobile while driving, they risk losing their licence, or crashing and then missing out on a whole lot more.

There’s also no point using the excuse of trying to keep your job to justify using a handheld mobile while driving as it actually puts your job at risk. You could receive a £200 fine and 6 points and if you’re within the first 2 years of passing your test you’ll lose your license and have to retake your theory and practical tests again.

The public can play a part too in improving road safety by using Op Snap to report and submit digital footage showing potential moving traffic offences, such as using a mobile phone while driving.