More car insurance policyholders are using handheld mobile phones while driving than before the government introduced tougher penalties to crack down on the practice, according to new research.
The Transport Research Laboratory found that 2.8 per cent of car insurance policyholders used handheld mobiles at the wheel, compared to 2.6 per cent in 2006.
According to the study, this figure dropped to 1.4 per cent immediately after the introduction of the tougher penalties in 2007, which included a £60 fine and three points on licenses, but this rose to 1.9 per cent in 2008.
The research was commissioned by Transport London and involved more than 14,000 vehicles in total.
“It is incredibly worrying that people still don’t take seriously the dangers that talking on your phone while driving pose,” said Sarah Fatica, from road safety charity Brake.
Recent research by Kwik-Fit found that three per cent of students have broken the law by driving without car insurance.
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