Half of van drivers break mobile phone law while driving

Almost three-in-five van drivers (57%) have admitted to physically checking their mobile phone while driving, new research from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles suggests.

While the proportion of van drivers checking their phones has fallen 7% year-on-year, those van drivers flouting the law risk six penalty points and a £200 fine if caught.

Under a 2022 law, it is illegal to hold and use a phone, sat-nav, tablet or any device that can send or receive data while driving.

This means you must not use a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline, with the law still applying if you are stopped at traffic lights, queuing in traffic or driving a car that turns off the engine when it stops moving.

A separate study from the Department for Transport (DfT) found that van drivers are more than twice as likely to use their mobile phone while driving, compared to all other types of drivers.

John Ricardo-Neto, head of product planning at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “While there’s still a large number of van drivers ignoring the mobile driving laws at some stage throughout the day, it’s positive to see that van drivers are, for the most part, using hands-free technology while on the road.”

The One Poll survey of 1,000 UK van drivers, commissioned by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, confirmed that the decision to ignore mobile phone driving laws is not the result of a lack of available hands-free technology.

In fact, 98% of respondents stated that their vans have in-built technology to support hands-free driving, with almost all (93%) using the technology at least once during the working day.

While mobile phones have become an indispensable part of modern life, their use has also become a scourge for fleet decision-makers.

Although using a hands-free phone behind the wheel is legal, Fleet News recently revealed how research has shown it is just as dangerous as using a handheld device. 

Evidence shows that drivers using them – whether holding or using the device hands-free – are four times more likely to crash, show poor hazard detection ability and take longer to react to any hazards they notice.