Women more likely to use their phone behind the wheel than men
Written by: Abaranji Sivakumar, Last updated:9th February 2022
Research often proves women drivers to be safer and less accident prone than men, but a new study has shown that women are more likely than men to illegally use their mobile phone while driving.
Out of the 1,200 motorists surveyed by Select Car Leasing, 17 per cent of women admitted to checking their phone from behind the wheel in the past 12 months, compared to 11 per cent of men.
Additionally, a further seven per cent of women said they had sent at least one text whilst in control of a vehicle, compared to four per cent of men.
Of course, women could be being more honest than men but the fact that both sexes readily admitted to messing with their phone from behind the wheel was alarming, said Mark Tongue, company director of Select Car Leasing.
“Overall, our study showed that four in ten drivers admit to checking their phone at least ‘rarely’ while at lights or in traffic – and that’s a concerning stat,” he commented.
“Doing it just the once is enough to put you and other road users in danger. Road safety is everybody’s responsibility. All calls or texts can wait and checking them can be the difference between living and dying.”
Any drivers caught using their phone whilst in control of a vehicle stand to receive six penalty points, a £200 fine and even have their licence revoked for two years.
Age was an important factor in the survey, with drivers aged 18-24 far more likely to be distracted by their phone than motorists above the age of 45.
Overall, 29 per cent of 18-24-year-olds admitted to checking their phone whilst driving in the past 12 months, compared to 15 per cent of 45-54-year-olds and just six per cent of 55-64-year-olds.
Jez Strong, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “These findings are alarming yet depressingly unsurprising. Thankfully, fleet bosses can monitor their drivers’ behaviour using telematics.”
Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com
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