All new-build cars should have universal hands free adaptors for mobile phones built into them in a bid to improve safety. That’s the request that came from Baroness O’Cathain, a Conservative peer talking in the House of Lords recently.
Using a mobile phone while driving became an offence in 2003 and the penalties were increased in 2007 to the same level as for speeding. Since then, surveys have shown a 35 per cent reduction in the observed use of mobile phones by drivers, with the exception of an increase last year in London only.
The Baroness claimed that people who needed to have a mobile phone in the car for safety and security - those in rural areas or travelling at night, particularly women - would be less likely to use the phone in the their hand if it was built into the car.
The Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, responded to the call by claiming that it wasn’t really the Government’s place to insist on mandatory arrangements for hands-free mobile installations, given that it was “fairly simple and straightforward to install” anyway. However, Lord Adonis wasn’t completely dismissive of the request, saying it would be borne in mind for future discussion.
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