Answering Your Phone Whilst Driving - Is It Worth The Risk?

Stephanie Staszko
September 17, 2011

You're driving peacefully in your car, listening to a little radio and are happily commuting to work. There isn't much traffic, so you're taking it easy and are singing along to some cheesy 80s music. Suddenly you feel vibrations in your pocket and hear that familiar ring tone…

Cautiously sneaking a look at your phone you realise that it's a private number. Who could it be? Is it something important? A call from the Hospital possibly, maybe your Mother is ill? A call from that new job you've applied for?! You're unsure as to whom the mystery caller is, and you're all too tempted to answer and discover what lies behind this particular phone call. Your senses are tingling, and you're wondering exactly what the worst is that could happen by pressing that little green answer key, and holding the phone to your ear. Surely the worst that will happen is that it's your friend putting on a terrible imitation of your boss's voice, trying to accuse you of doing something out of the ordinary in the company parking lot, of which that has unfortunately been caught on CCTV? Wrong.

Answering a mobile phone and holding it to your ear means you are distracted from the road. No matter how much you believe you can multi-task, female or not. According to Think!, even if the roads are quite clear, an accident is four times more likely to occur. A car could suddenly pull out in front of you and as you have one hand occupied holding the mobile phone, you may not be able to grip the wheel and turn it in time in order to swerve and break effectively. Then how silly would you feel for answering your friend's prank call? Is a trip to the Hospital and a damaged car worth it?

Not only could an accident occur, putting your and other people's health at risk, but you could be caught by the Police. It is against the law to drive whilst using a handheld mobile phone, which doesn't just mean answering calls, it also includes carrying out any act that utilises your phone manually (such as browsing the internet, or texting). If you are caught, you will end up with points on your licence along with a £60 fine to pay. If your case goes to court however, you may end up being disqualified from driving and could potentially have to pay a fine of up to £1,000. That would be where very good motoring offence solicitors are required.

As many people will agree, hands-free mobile kits are becoming an essential car safety accessory. There are many different hands-free accessories which can reduce the risk of committing a motoring offence. Mobile phone holders which you attach to your dashboard are popular as they give you the choice of answering calls and putting them onto loud speaker, so there is no need to hold the phone to your ear. Or if you're extra stylish, you could purchase a hands-free kit that generally includes a set of earphones, so you can safely grip the wheel whilst still hearing your friend witter on, trying to persuade you that the prank call is indeed real.

Be safe and abide by the law, you never know what situation you could end up in, and answering a call without any means of freeing your hands, isn't worth your life!

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Written by Stephanie Staszko on behalf of Just Motor Law http://www.justmotorlaw.co.uk/ who are motoring offence solicitors and The Motoring Defence Team http://www.themotoringdefenceteam.co.uk/