52% of UK motorists seek stricter penalties for motorists using hand-held mobiles and smartphones

As the UK government announces plans for increased penalties for those using handheld mobile phones while driving, the UK and Europe’s largest used vehicle marketplace, BCA, reveals the growing frustration of UK motorists towards careless driving habits.

Nearly 90% of motorists who responded to a BCA survey said the use of a handheld mobile device while driving was ‘very distracting’, with 95% claiming to have personally witnessed another motorist doing so.  And over half (52%) of those surveyed believed that penalties for using a handheld mobile device should be more severe. 

However, the BCA data also revealed that there appears to be a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’, with 42% of motorists admitting to having spoken on a handheld mobile device themselves while driving. Over a quarter (27%) admitted to texting while behind the wheel; 13% have taken a photo and 6% admitted to accessing social media whilst driving.

“The interesting thing about this study is that, whilst almost everybody was happy to vent their indignation at other drivers’ carelessness, a large number also owned-up to the very things that concerned them”, explained Tim Naylor, Editor of the BCA Used Car Market Report.

“But it is clear from our research that there is a groundswell of support for stronger penalties for using a hand-held mobile while driving – whether talking, texting or accessing social media.”

BCA is Europe’s largest used vehicle marketplace, selling over 1 million vehicles annually through physical and digital channels and delivering a range of specialist services including inventory and de-fleet management, logistics, buyer finance, dealer systems and remarketing partnership. BCA conducted a survey of 445 road users in September 2014.