The borough has the sixth-most distracted drivers in Britain
Kingston has one of the highest rates of drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel in the country, research has revealed.
Freedom of Information requests raised by Dayinsure have shown that one in every 243 licence-holders in Kingston upon Thames has been penalised for using a mobile phone while driving in the past three years, compared to one in every 427 in all of Great Britain.
According to the charity Brake, drivers who use their phone – whether hand-held or hands-free – are four times more likely to be in a crash.
“The safest course of action is to divert calls to voicemail and switch off the phone or put it out of sight and reach when driving,” said Bill Smith, Director of Communications at Road Safety GB.
Using a hand-held mobile device while driving is illegal, and motorists can be fined £200 as well as having six penalty points added to their licence.
Kingston residents react to distracted drivers
Anne Bull told the Kingston Courier that she has noticed a lot of delivery drivers using their phones while driving. She said: “I suppose they may be under pressure from their depots, but they worry me.”
According to data from the Department for Transport, van and lorry drivers are the biggest offenders with van drivers more than three times as likely to use phones while driving than car drivers.
Residents also mentioned that they had noticed drivers were more likely to use their phones during slow traffic or while driving in 20mph zones.
“I ride a bike, going by cars doing 20mph. They’re normally on their phone as they’re going so slowly,” said cyclist Nigel McHugh.
While 20mph speed limits have been shown to reduce the number and severity of crashes in London, drivers may also be more prone to get distracted when driving in these zones.
Smith said: “The use of a mobile device when driving increases the risk of a collision on any stretch of the road network.”
