Car insurance for young drivers news
10/06/2009
Mobile use hampers driving
Everyone knows that driving whilst on the phone is dangerous and illegal, but did you know that it is just as dangerous as drink driving? According to the TRL, an accident research company, drivers who use their phones whilst driving have 30% slower reaction times than those driving while drunk and are much worse at maintaining speed limits and keeping safe distances. The study also found that up to 1 in 4 young motorists admitted to using their mobiles to send a text while driving, putting themselves at serious risk of an accident and jeopardising car insurance for young drivers.
Evidence form the AA suggests that two thirds of motorists expect to go to prison if they cause a fatal accident while using a phone yet 10 million drivers have admitted using a hand-held phone while driving. If caught, you could face a fixed penalty of £60 plus three penalty points on your licence. That means for a young driver that has held their licence for less than 2 years, if you were to get stopped more than once for being on the phone driving your licence would be revoked and you would have to retake your test.
Using your mobile while driving seriously impairs your reaction times. It takes hand-held mobile users half a second longer to react to a hazard which may not seem much but if you are driving at 70mph it means travelling an extra 46 feet (14metres) before reacting which could mean the difference between crashing your car and a near miss.
So while it seems ok to just make a quick call while driving, the possible consequences should be enough to make you realise it's not. As well as risking your chance of finding car insurance for young drivers, you could also face unlimited fines and a prison sentence should you cause an accident while on the phone.
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