(08/10/2009)

Seventy five percent of road accidents caused by driver distraction

A new study has found that around 75 percent of vehicle collisions are caused by drivers being distracted at the wheel.

The study was conducted by academics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, which asked a number of drivers to fill in a questionnaire anonymously about their driving habits.

The results showed that texting on a mobile phone and dealing with child passengers were the two biggest distractions to drivers.

Despite it being illegal to use a handheld device whilst driving, more than 50 per cent of participants in the study admitted to using a mobile phone while behind the wheel, with 40 per cent saying they had written a text.

Indeed, technology proved to be a major factor in road accidents and near misses. As well as using mobile phones, inputting data into satellite navigation systems and changing songs on MP3 players were also popular answers amongst participants.

Research leader Dr Terry Lansdown said: “There is a social component to texting particularly, and I think many people rely on their business communications.

“There is no doubt that whether you are using your phone, hands-free or hand-held, and if you read or write texts, it is a risky activity to do whilst driving. It will distract you.”

The minimum punishment for using a hand held device while driving is a £60 fine and three penalty points on your license.

David Mason, Marketing and Business Manager at the Paul Rooney Partnership says “We come across many types of accidents due to dealing with a wide variety of different personal injury claims. We come across many reasons for these accidents and its fair to say that a good percentage is down to distractions such as those mentioned above.”

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