One in ten motorists in the UK believe texting while driving is within the law.<\/p>\n
Many British drivers still believe sending text messages from behind the wheel is legal, a new study has revealed.<\/p>\n
According to research by the RAC, 12 per cent of motorists are unaware that texting while driving is illegal.<\/p>\n
The study found that a large number of road users are unfamiliar with various other restrictions regarding the use of mobile phones inside a car.<\/p>\n
For instance, 21 per cent said they believed that checking social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook while driving was legal.<\/p>\n
In addition, 61 per cent of respondents admitted they were unaware that texting at the wheel of a stationary vehicle with the engine running was against the law.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, more than half said it is not dangerous to use a mobile phone while they are waiting at traffic lights or stuck in traffic.<\/p>\n
David Bizley, technical director of the RAC, expressed concern at the findings, telling BBC News that the lack of awareness of the law among British drivers is "frightening".<\/p>\n
He was particularly critical of those who believe it is acceptable to use a handset when a vehicle is stationary, saying they are failing to consider that this can still be highly dangerous.<\/p>\n
"They forget that when concentrating on their phone, a cyclist may pull up beside or just ahead of them and they may pull away, totally unaware of the cyclist's presence," Mr Bizley commented.<\/p>\n
However, he suggested that many motorists in the UK could be deliberately flouting the law, rather than acting out of ignorance.<\/p>\n
Figures showed that 42 per cent of drivers believe they are not likely to be caught sending a text message while driving.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, three-quarters said they have seen other people using mobile phones at the wheel of a car, even though less than one in ten admitted to doing the same.<\/p>\n
More than one in three respondents added that they are concerned about other road users being distracted by their mobiles when they are driving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One in ten motorists in the UK believe texting while driving is within the law. Many British drivers still believe sending text messages from behind the wheel is legal, a new study has revealed. According to research by the RAC, 12 per cent of motorists are unaware that texting while driving is illegal. The study […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n