Road safety figures back research into hands-free risks

The UK’s roads policing lead and the chief executive of the Road Safety Trust are supporting the findings of an educational project highlighting to police that hands-free phone use while driving is no safe alternative to hand-held use. The Open University project, called We need to talk about hands-free, was funded by The Road Safety Trust, and involved fellow academics from the Universities of Staffordshire and Keele. Its findings are being revealed at a time when the National Police Chiefs’ Council is focusing on a campaign, which lasts until 10 March, to crackdown on people being distracted by their mobile phone whilst driving.

While hands-free mobile phone use by drivers is not illegal, a vast body of research has shown it is no safer than hand-held phone use. This latest project was aimed at police officers, who are at the frontline of dealing with the devastation that distracted driving can cause, to ensure they are fully informed.

A total of 470 officers from England and Wales took part in an interactive video task designed by researchers at the OU.