UK drivers least likely to use their phones, notes Aviva survey

A survey of drivers in 13 countries found that UK drivers are least likely to say that they have used a phone while driving. Just over 10,000 drivers in Europe, North America and Asia were questioned in Aviva’s latest Consumer Attitudes Survey.
June 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

A survey of drivers in 13 countries found that UK drivers are least likely to say that they have used a phone while driving.

Just over 10,000 drivers in Europe, North America and Asia were questioned in Aviva’s latest Consumer Attitudes Survey.

However, one in five UK drivers said they had made a phone call while driving without using a hands-free kit, something which is now prohibited under UK law. This is compared to a global average of 48 per cent.

Drivers in the US (63%) and in China (76%) were most likely to say they had made a call while behind the wheel. In the UK, 20% of drivers admitted that they had used their phone. The average of all respondents was 48%.

In the UK, 13% of drivers said they had sent a text while driving, compared to the global average of 31 per cent, while 7% of UK motorists said they had checked or posted on social media while behind the wheel, lower than the global average of 17%.

UK motorists were also least likely to say they had taken or uploaded images on social media while driving (4% versus the global average of 14%).

By age, only 11% of those over the age of 55 admitted making a call, compared to 27% of those aged 45-54 and 26% of those aged 18-44. Some 28% of those aged 25-34 have sent a text message, while 14% of the age group have also posted on social media while driving. The survey also shows some 28% of motorists have put an address into a satellite navigation system while driving and 32% have looked at a digital or paper map.

The research was carried out between March 17 and May 1, shortly after stricter penalties were introduced in the UK for using mobile phones while driving. On March 1, the UK doubled fines to almost €228, plus increased demerit points on the offending driver’s licence.

(A)    Percentage of motorists who say they had made a call (not hands free) while driving
(B)    Percentage of motorists who say they had sent a text/message while driving
(C)    Percentage of motorists who say they had checked or posted on social media while driving

                                         (A)       (B)      (C)
UK                                    20%     13%      7%
Spain                                35%     27%     11%
France                               39%     26%      8%
Canada                              43%     26%    11%
Ireland                               45%     26%    15%
Singapore                          46%     47%     23%
Indonesia                           51%     53%     29%
Poland                               53%      18%    14%
Turkey                              53%      34%     22%
Italy                                  59%      41%    17%
India                                 60%      43%     41%
USA                                  63%      34%     22%
China                                76%      28%     11%
Global average                   48%      31%     17%




Finance & Funding

Related Content

  • Breath test 50th anniversary
    October 6, 2017
    It is now 50 years since the breathalyser testing system to check for alcohol use was introduced in the UK. Police carried out the first roadside breath test on a motorist in Shropshire on the 8th October 1967. The breath testing for alcohol has had a major benefit for UK road safety as in 1967 there were 1,640 road fatalities attributed to alcohol, almost as many road deaths as there were in total in the UK last year. The push to make drink driving regarded as dangerous, anti-social behaviour has had a maj
    Read More
  • Research shows fall in US motorcyclist deaths
    May 13, 2014
    New research shows a drop in motorcyclist deaths in the US. The figures compiled for the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) show a 7% drop in motorcyclist fatalities in the US in 2013, compared with data for the previous year. However, the GHSA cautions that poor weather in 2013 may have had an effect, reducing the total distance travelled by motorcyclists and therefore the numbers of crashes. Research shows 2013 to be only the second year since 1997 in which there has been a drop in motorcyclist d
    Read More
  • Brisbane's highway of distinction
    August 2, 2012
    A massive AU$2 billion update of the Gateway Motorway in Queensland is underway to improve an infrastructure stretched by population boom. Report and photographs by Adrian Greeman Just 20 years after the Australian city of Brisbane built its Gateway Motorway with a high slim signature bridge dominating the river skyline, the road is being completely revamped. Some 12km of urban route on the south of the Brisbane River is being expanded to take much increased traffic levels; the north is getting a completely
    Read More
  • Poor marks for UK's white lines
    April 23, 2012
    The UK’s road markings are said to be vanishing rapidly, according to a new survey by a leading highways organisation. A snapshot survey of nearly 500 miles by the Road Safety Markings Association (RMSA) revealed that well over half of white lines in Scotland and Wales are almost non-existent, and England’s fare little better. On average, the RSMA survey found that 50.6% of the UK’s surveyed road markings are barely visible. And almost a quarter (23%) of roads are classified as needing ‘emergency repa
    Read More

Highlighted Content