Cheshire police warn motorists not to drive and phone

Dec 27 2012 Flintshire Chronicle

CHESHIRE Police will be out in force during the winter months to deliver road safety advice and target motorists who are taking risks by using their mobile phone while driving.

The targeted enforcement campaign - it runs until the end of January - will involve the use of patrols to reinforce the message to drivers and the local community about driving while using a mobile phone in a bid to drive down the number of persons killed or seriously injured on the roads of Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Halton and Warrington as a result of someone having used a mobile phone.

Cheshire Police state you are four times more likely to crash if you use a mobile phone whilst driving.

Drivers are at risk whether they use the phone hands free or hand held as they are much less aware of what’s happening on the road, fail to see road signs, react more slowly and can take longer to brake.

Tweeting and driving is a new risk. According to a recent survey of 1,000 motorists, it showed that while 92% knew it was illegal to use a hand held mobile while driving, as many as 45% sent text messages and made calls while at the wheel.

And 37% said they found it impossible to ignore mobile alerts while driving and 19% have rummaged through a handbag or pocket to try and find their phone while at the wheel.

As many as 9% of motorists are using mobile internet services while driving.

A third of motorists still use a hand held phone while driving, despite more than a million convictions for the offence over the past decade, figures reveal.

To read more about the winter drink driving campaign, go to www.cheshire.police.uk.