1 in 14 motorists admit to taking ‘selfies’ while driving

Confused.com research shows that 1 in 14 motorists (7 per cent) admit to having taken a photograph while driving, and 4 per cent also use the social media app of the moment – Snapchat – to send photos to friends while at the wheel. The price comparison website also discovered that in a recent 30-day period, 287 tweets were tagged with #drivingselfie and #drivingselfies.

In addition, 36 per cent of motorists admit to using their mobile phone when driving, mainly to make or answer calls (75 per cent) and send or check texts (43 per cent). Yet, despite so many flouting the law, only 8 per cent say they have actually been caught by police using their phone behind the wheel. And, of those who have been caught, 57 per cent admit to continuing to use their phone while driving after their brush with the law

Institute of Advanced Motorists responds

IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: “Research shows that it is simply not possible to use a mobile phone in any way whilst driving and stay safe no matter how confident you may be in your driving ability.

“This seems to be another form of peer pressure to take part in the latest trend and the best way to avoid it is to give young people the skills to stand up for themselves and not follow the herd and post silly photographs online.  It is also really worrying that many drivers caught using a phone are not learning the lesson.  The IAM want to see more traffic police out there catching bad drivers but this survey would seem to suggest not even that will stop those addicted to using their smartphones.”