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One in 14 drivers admit to taking "selfies" while driving

By / 10 years ago / Latest News / No Comments

One in 14 motorists (7%) admit to having taken a photograph while driving, and 4% also use the social media app of the moment – Snapchat – to send photos to friends while at the wheel. The price comparison website also discovered that in a recent 30-day period, 287 tweets were tagged with #drivingselfie and #drivingselfies.

Yet, despite so many flouting the law, only 8% say they have actually been caught by police using their phone behind the wheel. And, of those who have been caught, 57% admit to continuing to use their phone while driving after their brush with the law.

In response IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: ‘Research shows that it is simply not possible to use a mobile phone in any way whilst driving and stay safe no matter how confident you may be in your driving ability

‘This seems to be another form of peer pressure to take part in the latest trend and the best way to avoid it is to give young people the skills to stand up for themselves and not follow the herd and post silly photographs online.  It is also really worrying that many drivers caught using a phone are not learning the lesson. The IAM want to see more traffic police out there catching bad drivers but this survey would seem to suggest not even that will stop those addicted to using their smartphones.’

Road Safety GB has also responded to the news with a video of road office Matt Staton warning people about the dangers of driving while taking selfies, going on Facebook and using social media while behind the wheel. To see the video, click here.

 

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.