The argument for banning employees from using hands-free phones while driving is gathering momentum after new research proved that motorists on mobile phones contribute to traffic congestion because they drive more slowly.
The research found that motorists talking on mobile phones while driving on dual carriageways and motorways were slower and less likely to overtake. This in turn holds up other motorists making thier journeys longer
"If you talk on the phone while driving, it’s going to take you longer to get from A to B, and slows down everybody else on the road," said researcher Joel Cooper, a doctoral student in psychology.
The findings back previous research that using a hands-free phone is as dangerous while driving as using a hand-held phone because it is the conversation itself that is the major distraction. Now where have I heard that before?
Earlier studies also found that mobile phone users followed at greater distances, were slower to brake and to regain speed after braking.
The research also stresses how important it is to show how mobile phone use affects traffic with increased commuting times; excess fuel used by stop-and-go traffic and increased air pollution that has never been taken into consideration before.
Why on earth are these things simply not banned completely from cars? Are we that sad a nation that we feel we are indispensable?
FemaleFirst Jackie Violet