Research demonstrates that reaction times for drivers using a handheld phone are 30% worse than for driving under the influence of alcohol at the leagl limit. Using a mobile phone whilst driving means you are 4 times more likely to have a collision. It is illegal to use a hand held mobile phone or similar device while driving. The penalty charge is £60 and 3 penalty points. If the case goes to court, it's a maximum fine of £1,000, discretionary disqualification and 3 points. If you reach 6 points within 2 years of passing your test your licence will be revoked and you wil need to re-sit your test to get your licence back. You can also be prosecuted for using a handsfree phone or similar device if you are distracted and not in proper control of the vehicle. The same penalties apply. Employers could be prosecuted if employees are distracted because they require them to use their mobile phones while driving.
While few people admit to regularly travelling without a seat belt, research shows that 24% of people admit they sometimes don't wear a seat belt in the back and 10% in the front. There is also evidence that people are less likely to use seat belts on short or familiar journeys or at low speeds. This puts them at serious risk of injury in a collision.
If you are convicted of failing to wear a seat belt as a driver or passenger, you could face a fine of up to £500. In addition to the legal penalties, failure to wear a seat belt or failure to ensure that a child passenger uses an appropriate child restraint or wears a seat belt, could affect any claims against your motor insurance cover. You could also face civil proceedings for damages, if (for example) you failed to safely carry someone else's child. But, of course, the most serious penalty of all could be that you or a passenger loses their life!
The law requires all children travelling in cars to use the correct child restraint until they are either 135cm in height or the age of 12 (which ever they reach first). After this they must use an adult seat belt.
It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that children under the age of 14 years are restrained correctly in accordance with the law.
An unsecured or incorrectly secured load or object in your vehicle is a potentially deadly risk. Moving objects can affect the balance of your vehcile, causing you to lose control. In a collision or sudden manouvre, like braking, an unsecured object could become lethal, smashing into anything that gets in its way, like a person in your vehicle, or another road user.
According to the Transport Research Group TRL, in a 25mph collision, a laptop could crush a persons skull, whilst in a 35mph collision a piece of luggage in your boot would break through the rear seats in 0.11 seconds and hit the windscreen in 0.37 seconds.