Mobile phone and seat belt usage rates in London 2007

The second London Seat Belt and Mobile Phone survey was carried out in March 2007 to survey the use of restraints by car, taxi and van occupants, and the use of mobile phones by drivers. The survey used the same method asthe first London survey in 2006 and the long running Department for Transport (DfT) Seat Belt and Mobile Phone survey. Observations were made on a weekday at 33 sites in London covering a range of different road types. The 2007 survey found that 87% of car drivers in London were wearing a seat belt, a marked increase from the level of 82% found in 2006. There was also an increase in wearing rate in cars for front and rear seat passengers, and drivers and passengers in vans. The proportion of car drivers observedusing a hand-held phone decreased from 2.6% in 2006 to 1.4% in 2007, but the overall level of mobile phone use scarcely changed for car drivers, increased for van drivers and doubled for taxi drivers. A hands-free phone was more frequently used in 2007 than a hand-held phone, which is likely tobe the result of the increased penalties for hand-held mobile phone use and a period of increased enforcement. (A)