While we know that using cell phones while driving is dangerous, deadly even, we often think about it in terms of other people or other circumstances. A recent study published in the UK by the National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS), and reported on by Motor1, is a great case in point. According to the study, 1 in 4 respondents felt that cell phone use was safe as long as it was being used while in stationary traffic. This was only one of many such findings by the report, including that 6% of respondents feel it is absolutely safe to use a phone while driving, and three-quarters of people feel laws prohibiting cell phone use are not properly enforced. While the numbers in the report are worrying, there is hope that they will lead to change.
"As a result, road safety charity Brake has called on the government to offer police more resources to tackle phone use, as well as urging the powers that be to introduce a new law banning all phone use while driving, even through hands-free systems."
This latest study by NTAS, and similar research that is being conducted around the globe, suggests that we are in need of a monumental shift in the way we think about cell phone while driving. Studies like these play an important role in refocusing our attention on the danger.
For more on the study and reaction to it, check out the article by James Fossdyke in Motor1.