You should also look to sources such as the Department for Transport and Office for National Statistics for road accident and safety statistics , such as the annual DfT reported road casualties documents 1 . These are available to everyone and give numbers of people killed and seriously injured in crashes ( KSIs ) as well as their causation factors . Other online , widely available resources include MAST online , which provides data concerning KSIs and crashes both regionally and nationally ( see page 13 ). This source is particularly useful as you can manipulate and analyse the data in a number of ways , without having to source and use a suitable data analysis package . However , this does not give specific data relating to mobile phone use by drivers .
Another option for finding out about the problem is self-report data . Whilst there are some limitations to this sort of data ( mostly concerning the need to trust members of the public to be honest about offending behaviour ), this type of data is useful as it can give us an understanding not only of how frequently individuals admit to using a handheld device while driving , but also how frequently they use a hands-free device while driving . A major , annual , report based on self-report data is the RAC Report on Motoring , which can be found via the link at the bottom of this page 2 . Observation is another way of finding out who is doing what ( and who is doing it without having had a crash , yet ). Some national statistics are based on observations , or you could collect your own , but remember that not all forms of phone use are easy to see .
If the data you need is not currently held , you might want to consider whether it is possible to start collecting it yourself . This way , you can make sure that you have the exact data you need , for the area you are intending to work on - though it may mean a delay before you can get started , and there may be resource implications .
“ There ’ s suddenly a real problem with crashes caused by people using their phones ”
Not all data is going to be in the form of numbers in tables . Don ’ t underestimate the value of ‘ local insight ’ ( otherwise known as anecdote or experience ). Whilst we wouldn ’ t suggest designing a whole project around that local wisdom , it may be that gut feeling or instinct ( yours or a colleague ’ s ) is a good place to start , and gives you a focus for starting to interrogate the data .
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1 DfT ( 2015 ). Seat belt and mobile phone use surveys : England and Scotland , 2015 . Statistical release . Available from : https :// assets . publishing . service . gov . uk / government / uploads / system / uploads / attachment _ data / file / 406723 / seatbelt-and-mobile-use-surveys-2014 . pdf
2 RAC ( nd ). RAC Report on Motoring . Available from : https :// www . rac . co . uk / report-on-motoring-2019 /