Drivers warned over mobile use

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Motorists are being warned of the dangers of driving while using a hand-held mobile phone after figures have shown more drivers are breaking the law.

Data from the Department for Transport reveals there has been a rise in the number of car, van and lorry drivers using the devices behind the wheel - even though it has been proven to slow reaction times.

Between September 2008 and November last year, the proportion of car drivers using mobiles rose from 1.1 % to 1.4 % - a 27% jump. Van and lorry drivers increased 18%, from 2.2% to 2.6%, the figures showed.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said it was "very worrying" and called for police to be handed more resources to tackle the problem.

"We know that drivers' reaction times slow by almost half when they are having a chat on their mobiles. This is even worse than texting whilst driving - bad enough in itself - which our research has shown reduces reactions by a third. It has been illegal to use a hand-held phone at the wheel since December 2003 and yet we have still seen this increase," he said.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

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