Oldham addicted to smartphones
Date published: 02 August 2018
How often do you pick up your smartphone?
How often do you look at your smartphone?
People in Oldham check their mobiles every 12 minutes, according to news stats from communications watchdog Ofcom.
Two thirds of adults describe it as an essential part of their lives.
Road safety charity Brake is now concerned about whether that it’s impacting our driving.
They say a phone addiction could have a devastating impact on road safety.
Commenting, Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said: “In our modern world it may seem unsurprising that people can’t go 12 minutes without using their smartphone, but this ‘addiction’ can have deadly consequences if people can’t leave their phones alone whilst driving.
“A split-second distraction caused by a call, text or notification behind the wheel can be fatal.
“In 2016, 32 people were killed and 105 seriously injured in crashes involving a driver being distracted by their mobile phone, and this problem is getting worse year-on-year.
“Illegal mobile phone use behind the wheel is all too common and action needs to be taken to rid our roads of this dangerous menace.
“We are calling on the Government to invest in greater awareness, more enforcement and tougher punishment of people who illegally use their phone at the wheel to provide an effective deterrent to this blight on our roads.
“Drivers need to understand that no call, text or social media update is worth risking a life.”
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