Over half (57%) of UK van drivers still physically check their mobile phones while driving1, according to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles research. This is despite the most recent update to Regulation 110 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, banning the use of all handheld devices behind the wheel and an increased fine of \u00a3200 fine and six penalty points.<\/p>\n
While the proportion of van drivers checking their phones has reduced by 7% versus 2023 \u2013 in which 64% of UK van drivers confessed to checking their phones2 \u2013 1 in 10 still admit to not only doing so while driving, but doing so \u201coften\u201d.1<\/p>\n
Demonstrating the scale and ongoing prevalence of the issue amongst the UK\u2019s van drivers, a recently released Department for Transport survey found that van drivers are more than twice as likely to use their mobile phone while driving, compared to all other types of drivers.3<\/p>\n
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles\u2019 research 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.1<\/p>\n
While it remains to be seen what\u2019s causing so many driversto continue breaking the law at some stage during the day, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is urging van drivers to go hands-free while on the road.<\/p>\n
As the hours UK van drivers spend in their vehicles continue to increase \u2013 rising from an average 4.88 hours per day in 20222, to 6.24 hours in 20231 \u2013 it\u2019s more important than ever that drivers make the most of the technology available. Doing so not only improves road safety, but also allows drivers to work on the go.<\/p>\n
To optimise customer convenience and safety, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles fits a Bluetooth\u00ae hands-free kit as standard across all its models. Paired with its range of digital services \u2013 including We Connect and App-Connect \u2013 which enable drivers to make calls, access apps and navigate via voice control, drivers can get back to business all without taking their eyes off the road.<\/p>\n
The survey also indicates that many van drivers are transitioning to such technology, with 82% making up to 10 hands-free calls per day.1<\/p>\n
John Ricardo-Neto, Head of Product Planning at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: \u201cWhile there\u2019s still a large number of van drivers ignoring the mobile driving laws at some stage throughout the day, it\u2019s positive to see that van drivers are, for the most part, using hands-free technology while on the road. Every new Volkswagen van is packed with useful in-cabin tech such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as the ability of voice control, allowing drivers to maintain their eyes, and focus, on the road at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n
______<\/p>\n\n
For more details on Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles please visit www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n The post 57% of UK Van Drivers Risk Losing Licence<\/a> appeared first on Transport & Logistics Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over half (57%) of UK van drivers still physically check their mobile phones while driving1, according to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles research. This is despite the most recent update to Regulation 110 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, banning the use of all handheld devices behind the wheel and an increased fine of \u00a3200 fine and six penalty…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}