Clampdown on texting and driving

Clampdown on texting and driving
Aug 11 2005
Rhodri Clark, Western Mail

WELSH police are worried lives may be lost because of a new menace on the roads - people texting while driving.
South Wales' top traffic cop yesterday said drivers thought they could get away with texting as long as their phones were out of sight on their laps.
But Sgt Nigel Whitehouse said the risk of an accident was far higher when texting than when speaking on a mobile phone, because drivers took their eyes off the road to read or compose texts.
Motoring watchdog the RAC Foundation echoed his concerns, saying drivers played "Russian roulette" every time they texted at the wheel.
South Wales Police does not hold separate figures for text-driving offences as distinct from speaking on a mobile phone at the wheel, but researchers in Australia have found that 58% of young motorists would read a text message while driving.
The same research found that one-third of drivers aged under 30 felt they could safely take their eyes off the road to send a text message. The survey was conducted after a 24-year-old driver in Melbourne admitted killing a cyclist when she took her eyes off the road to send a text message.
Police officers in South Wales are treating text-driving as such a serious threat to public safety that some people stopped for the offence are now being charged with driving without due care and attention. That carries a much stiffer penalty than the fine for speaking on a mobile phone while driving.