Up to eight million UK drivers could be taking risks equivalent to drink-driving by using hands-free mobiles, according to insurer yesinsurance.co.uk.

The company found that most of the country’s 33 million registered drivers have a mobile phone and almost a quarter (24%) occasionally uses it while they are driving – either legally with a hands-free kit or illegally by holding it.

“Research conducted in Australia indicates that people using mobile phones while driving are four times more likely to crash,” said Paul Purdy of yesinsurance.co.uk.

“Whilst we would not go as far as calling for a complete ban on hands-free devices, we would like to see the Government placing a much greater emphasis on warning drivers that this can be as dangerous as drinking,” he concluded.

ED’S COMMENT

Despite the legislation and the obvious safety concerns, the sight of moronic non-entities using their phone while driving is still far too common. You can understand doctors perhaps sometimes having to make calls from their cars, but the sort mainly offending have nothing much to say at the best of times so what excuse they imagine they have to do it – and to endanger other road users’ lives – is beyond me. Three years inside would do the trick nicely, because then they would have something to talk about, wouldn’t they?