Mobile phones and driving.
Prior to the introduction of legislation in the United Kingdom, observational road-side studies showed that approximately 2 per cent of drivers use a mobile phone while driving. We studied the change in the usage rate of hand-held mobile phones from 10 weeks before to 10 weeks after the legislation came into force in December 2003. Across three different sites during the evening rush-hour, the usage rate changed from 1.85 to 0.97 per cent, a reduction of almost half. This change is attributed to the legislation. The effect of the legislation on accident and injury rates is unknown.
Johal
Sandeep
S
Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Napier
Fiona
F
Britt-Compton
Jenny
J
Marshall
Tim
T
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012306:Risk; D013995:Time; D006113:United Kingdom