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Drive smart

Got the msg? If you talk on a phone at the wheel – hands-free or hand-held – your risk of causing an injury or death is four times as high. Use a phone to text, email or browse the internet and the risk is much higher still. Research shows the impact of using a phone on reaction times is on a par with drink driving. Yet a huge proportion of drivers put themselves and others in danger for the sake of a call or message, whether flouting the law by using a hand-held phone, or wrongly believing that hands-free is a safe option. Read more facts.

What needs to be done?

Drivers need to put phones out of sight and reach when driving to avoid temptation; on long journeys, they should take regular breaks to check for messages. Using a phone and driving is a deadly combination, and no call or message is worth a life.

Brake is also calling on the government to ban hands-free phones at the wheel, in line with research showing the risk is just as great due to the distraction of the conversation. We also need a much higher penalty for using phones at the wheel, so drivers take it seriously. And we need roads policing made a national policing priority, so more resources are invested in catching dangerous drivers on phones.

What you can do:

Click like above to spread the word on Facebook
Make Brake’s Pledge, including a commitment to never use a phone at the wheel
Write to your MP calling for action on phone use by drivers, including a ban on hands-free phones at the wheel
Sign up to our fortnightly e-bulletin, for updates on our campaigns and how you can help
Get involved in our 2Young2Die programme, spreading road safety awareness among young people, including on the dangers of phone use by drivers