A shocking new study has exposed the extent of the UK’s phone addiction by revealing that the vast majority of UK motorists are unable to leave their phones alone while driving.
The report from IMS, a global authority in telematics and connected motor insurance technology, found that nine out of 10 drivers struggle to complete a journey without being distracted by their phones.
This is despite the risks around safety, fines of £200 fines, and six penalty points.
Based on survey results from 500,000 drivers over the past year, the research found that only 10% of motorists manage to drive from start to finish without interacting with their device.
Safety risks
Government data showed that mobile phone use was a contributing factor in 23 road fatalities last year, while official statistics report that ‘distraction or impairment’ was the third most common cause of fatal crashes, playing a role in 34.9% of deadly incidents.
IMS’s CEO Paul Stacy said: “Our latest findings show the scale of the issue distracted driving has become on British roads and makes clear that the vast majority of us are guilty of it. The insurance industry is increasingly using smartphone technology to monitor and manage the road risk of policyholders that buy a usage-based insurance product, and from this data, we can see that smartphone distraction remains a significant contributor to road collisions and insurance claims.”
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis added: “We saw a reduction in motorists admitting to illegal handheld phone use after the penalties were toughened in 2017 following pressure from the RAC, but numbers are on the rise again now.
“In fact, our research shows the proportion of young drivers making and receiving calls illegally hit its highest rate in eight years in 2024. Enforcement of the law is critical, so we encourage police forces to roll out more roadside cameras to catch people in the act and get them to change their ways.”
