More than one-in-five drivers (23%) in the UK cite illegal phone use as their biggest motoring concern, based on RAC survey data of 2,937 drivers in 2023.

^{Sources: RAC Report on Motoring & Ministry of Justice}

There has been a worrying increase in the number of drivers who admit to regular handheld mobile phone use to make or receive calls, with 12% saying they do this ‘all the time’, ‘most of the time’ or ‘sometimes’ 2023, up from 10% in 2022. A further 13% say they ‘rarely’ make or receive calls in this way while driving.

The RAC Report on Motoring has seen compliance with the law relating to motorists’ mobile phone use increase for all ages from 2022 to 2023.

It should be noted that high levels of media coverage of the issue resulting from its findings in 2016 led to new penalties being introduced in 2017.

However, all age groups except for 25-44 have seen an increase in the number of people making or receiving illegal voice calls when driving.

^{Source: RAC Report on Motoring}

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2023 saw a sharp rise in the proportion of young drivers admitting to illegal phone use, RAC figures show.

Non-compliance is particularly notable, and rising, among the under-25s: in this age group, almost half (49%) admit to using a handheld phone for calls while driving, up significantly from 34% in 2022 – the corresponding figure for those aged 65 or older is 13%.

Three-in-10 (30%) of under-25s say they have engaged in a video call while driving – almost double the 17% reported in 2022 – while 19% of this group have taken a photo or recorded a video while at the wheel (16% in 2022).

Most drivers who admit to some form of illegal phone use (60%) say they only do so in stationary traffic where, they believe, such behaviour is not very dangerous – despite this still being against the law. A further 12% maintain they can safely hold and use a mobile phone and drive at the same time.

^{Source: RAC Report on Motoring}

According to the latest Reported Road Casualties Great Britain (2022), 22 people were killed and 674 injured in road traffic collisions where a driver using a mobile phone was considered to be a contributory factor.

Further analysis of the data shows that 4,188 injuries were recorded where there was a ‘distraction in vehicle’, where a mobile device could potentially have played a factor in the collision.

^{Source: Gov.co.uk}

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The latest Ministry of Justice data shows that there were just 6,200 prosecutions for ‘using or causing others to use a handheld mobile phone whilst driving’ in 2021.

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this total is significantly lower than a decade earlier in 2011, where the total was 31,400.

Using or causing others to use a handheld mobile phone whilst driving

^{Source: Ministry of Justice}

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Young drivers are far more likely to say they have video-called while driving, compared to average.

Concerningly, the number of young drivers admitting to video calling while driving has increased in recent years. In 2020, 18% of those surveyed revealed to doing it – which increased to 30% in 2023.

Over the same time, relating to all drivers, this increased from 8% to 9% over the same time frame.

^{Source: RAC Report on Motoring}

The motoring public’s tolerance of mobile phone use at the wheel is low, with 95% of drivers saying people who talk on handheld mobile phones while driving is putting others’ lives at risk, while 85% believe there is never any excuse for using a handheld phone for any purpose while driving.

The public’s view relating to drivers who illegally check their phones while in stationary traffic are less clear cut, however. A third (33%) do not think such behaviour endangers other road users, while 48% believe it does.

In the 2022 RAC Report on Motoring, there was a widespread support amongst drivers for tougher enforcement of the law relating to handheld mobile phone use: 47% think the most effective way of curbing illegal use is the introduction of new camera technology to detect offenders.

So far in the last 12 months, there have been several examples of this technology being introduced.

A further 26% of drivers say more police officers on the road is the answer to this problem. Another 4% believe that dashcam footage submitted to the police to follow-up could also tackle this issue.

^{Sources: gov.co.uk and RAC Report on Motoring}

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Number of young drivers illegally using phones behind the wheel reaches eight-year-high

New data from the RAC reveals that the percentage of young drivers illegally using their phones to make or receive calls without hands-free technology is at its highest in eight years—21 years after it first became a punishable offense.

According to the 2024 Report on Motoring, 55% of drivers under 25 admitted to making or receiving voice calls while driving, compared to just 27% of the overall driving population and 16% of those aged 65 or older. This represents a 6% increase from 2023 and a 3% rise since 2016, when this data was first recorded.

Additionally, 43% of younger drivers reported listening to voice notes while driving without hands-free, and 40% admitted to recording such messages. For the general driving population, these figures are much lower, at 14% and 9%, respectively.

These findings come 21 years after the government made it illegal to use a handheld mobile device while driving, and more than two years after a loophole was closed that allowed drivers to avoid punishment by claiming they weren’t using the phone for 'interactive communication'.

In terms of other types of phone use while driving, 15% of all drivers have checked messages on their phones, and 10% have written texts, emails, or social media posts while behind the wheel. Of particular concern is the significant rise in drivers taking photos or recording videos—almost 8% of drivers admitted to doing so in the past year, up from 5% in both 2023 and 2022.

Non-compliance with the law is notably higher among younger drivers, with 39% of under-25s checking messages manually while driving and 30% taking photos or recording videos, a sharp increase from 19% in 2023. Furthermore, 40% of young drivers have made or received a video call while driving, a jump from 30% in 2023 and 17% in 2022.