18 THE KNOW
Researchers to contribute
to efforts to reduce mobile
phone use by drivers
C
riminologist Dr Helen Wells,
and PhD student Leanne Savigar,
have been awarded a grant from
the Road Safety Trust, to review the range
of innovations currently operating aimed
at reducing mobile phone use by drivers.
The project started in January and coincided
with the national police operation to stop
drivers using their phones at the wheel.
The study will encourage practitioners to
engage with academic research to help
them design and evaluate research-informed
interventions.
Having a hand-held or hands-free mobile
phone conversation while driving has
been found to quadruple the likelihood
of a driver being involved in an incident,
according to the World Health Organisation.
Dr Wells said: “The issue of mobile device
use by drivers is one of the biggest
challenges facing road safety at the present
time. Although the use of handheld devices
has been illegal since 2003, the pace of
technology development is fast outstripping
the ability of the law to keep pace, and of the
road safety community to offer an effective
way to tackle the problem.”
Ms Savigar said: “The recent increase in the
fine and penalty points for mobile phone use
while driving will have a limited deterrent
effect if drivers perceive little risk of actually
being caught and if, as research suggests,
even some police officers are unsure as
to what actually constitutes ‘use’ or even a
‘mobile phone’. For these reasons, it’s clear
that attempts to reduce death and injury
as a result of mobile phone use by drivers
cannot focus solely on the law enforcement
activities of the police, and that the sharing
of knowledge between practitioners is vital
if the intended outcomes are to be achieved.”
The project will produce its findings in
a compendium of notable practice from
across the road safety a