Survey reveals one in eight NI drivers text while behind the wheel

The Road Safety Issues in Northern Ireland 2019/2020 survey also found that the majority of respondents (90%) responded correctly that the presence of street lights, generally means that the speed limit is 30 miles per hour.

Almost three-fifths of all drivers (57%) reported that they used their phone in some capacity while driving

Although, making a hands free call accounted for the highest usage in a moving (45%) or stationary vehicle (40%), nine percent of drivers admitted to making a hand held call while driving.

Approximately one in eight drivers admitted to texting.

Older drivers were identified as the group who were least likely to use their phone while driving with just over a quarter (27%) of those aged 65 or over admitting to have done so in the last 12 months.

The top three risks stated by respondents of using a mobile phone while driving were being more likely to cause a crash (94%), being more likely to be involved in a crash and being less likely to notice a danger ahead (both with 86%).

Less than half (49%) of respondents believe that drivers were likely to be stopped by police for using their mobile phone while driving.

Over two thirds (69%) of respondents correctly identified that the police penalty for being caught was a £60 fine plus 3 penalty points. Almost three-fifths (59%) of those surveyed, however, believed that this penalty should be increased.

In February 2021, the penalty for illegal use of a mobile phone behind the wheel increased to six penalty points and £200.

The information presented in the report derives from the 2019/2020 Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in relation to the attitudes, awareness and behaviours of respondents to specific road safety issues.

The 2019/20 CHS was based on a random sample of 9,000 domestic addresses drawn from the NISRA Address Register and interviews were sought with all adults aged 16 and over in these households with the final dataset containing the records for 2,962 adults.