Hands-free 'still a risk' claims Australian study

Drivers using hands-free kits instead of holding their mobile phones are not protecting themselves against the risk of accidents, claims new research.

In Australia, a country with around a third of the UK's population, three out of five motorists admitted to using their phone on the road, leading to 45,000 accidents put down to mobile phone use.

But Dr Suzanne McEvoy, senior research fellow at the George Institute which carried out the research, claims that this number of accidents would not be cut if everyone reverted to hand-free, which is legal in the UK.

The study reports that the risk of a crash increases four-fold when the person in control of the vehicle uses a phone, irrespective of whether it is held to the ear or hands-free.

"Drivers are aware of the law against hand-held mobile phones, but believe that enforcement is quite low. These data clearly demonstrate the need to enhance enforcement of this legislation," Dr McEvoy said.

"However, given that hands-free devices do not necessarily reduce the risk, drivers should limit all phone use while driving," she added.

Young drivers were found to be almost five times more likely to use their phones than older drivers and the worst offenders were generally found to be those living in cities.

A survey released by the Liberal Democrats last week found that just 1.5 per cent of the five million British drivers who admit using their phones in the driving seat are ever brought to justice.