How To Avoid Your Phone Whilst Driving

We understand in this day and age, our mobile phones are something we cannot live without – we use them for work and pleasure but at times its necessary to put them aside and focus on what is going on around you, especially when driving.

Since March 2017, in the UK it is illegal to hold and use your phone when driving and if you were to get caught, you will be given 6 points on your driver’s license along with a £200 fine as standard. Also, if you are a new driver and are caught using your mobile phone – you will lose your license and you must take your driving test again.

Furthermore, if the police feel that the offence was so bad, they can take you to court and you could be given a maximum fine of £1,000 or if you were driving a goods vehicle £2,500. Prison time can be allocated too if a death has occurred; the Ministry of Justice recently finished a consultation on increasing the maximum sentence for causing a death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life imprisonment.

At CarCliq, we have put together tips on how to avoid your phone whilst driving and how using it can affect it too.

How to avoid your phone whilst driving?

• Take away temptation. You can do this by hiding your phone simply by putting it away in your glove compartment or in your bag.
• If you do suffer from the compulsion to text, go on social media or call, make it your priority to plan rest stops during your route. These rest stops need to be in a safe location, where you can check your phone with the engine switched off.
• Before putting your phone away, if you are expecting a call or important message whilst you are commuting, make it clear to whoever it is you’re going to be out of touch for a while. Therefore, this makes sure your focus is strictly on the road.
• Leave your great multi-tasking skills out of your driving. If you need to make a call or send off an important email, you need to do it before you leave.
• If you can, turn off your phone completely or put it in airplane mode; therefore, this stops your phone from receiving notifications.
• If you know you tend to switch songs often using your phone during a journey, instead make a playlist of all your favourite songs.
  If you’re in need of a playlist, check out CarCliq’s Spotify!
• Having a passenger in the car with you can be handy, delegate them as DJ or your PA for the day to get them to read out any messages or social media updates they think are worth knowing.

How can using my mobile phone affect my driving?
The first reason is distraction – driving and using your phone at the same time requires you to concentrate on two things at once, never mind if you think your multi-tasking skills are up to scratch. Our brains are not programmed to do this effectively.

Secondly, physical impairment. This is due to the fact you’re using one hand for the steering wheel, whereas you need both to ensure you have full control over the vehicle.

Finally, visual impairment – when you glance down at your phone, this means you’re taking your visual focus off the road and at your mobile screen. 

Finally, we hope you have learnt the importance of safe driving and how to avoid your phone whilst in control of a vehicle. There are serious acts of punishments for driving whilst using a mobile, however, these penalisations shouldn’t be the only things stopping you from carrying out this careless act. Think about your safety and others around you.

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