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The facts

• In a crash, you’re twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seat belt.
• Drivers and passengers aged 17-34 have the lowest seat belt-wearing rates, combined with the highest accident rate.
• People are less likely to use seat belts on short or familiar journeys – putting them at serious risk of injury in a crash.

The law

• Drivers and passengers who fail to wear seat belts in the front and back of vehicles are breaking the law.
• For those aged 14 and over, failure to wear a seat belt could result in an on-the-spot fine of £100. If prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500.
• As a passenger in taxis and private hire vehicles, you are required by law to wear seat belt where one is provided.
• The safest way for children to travel in cars is in an appropriate car seat. If the correct child car seat is not available, children can ride in taxis and private hire vehicles, but only on a rear seat. Children under three can sit in the back without a seat belt, while those three and older must wear one.
• In minibuses, buses, and coaches, passengers aged 14 years and over must use a seat belt if one is available and are personally responsible for doing so. Bus and coach operators must provide either signs or announcements to remind passengers that they must wear a seat belt, where one is available.

Read more

• Download our Seat belts and Child Restraints leaflet for more information on the fitting and wearing of seat belts, child car seats and information on the fitting and wearing of child restraints.
• Additional sources of information include:

• • Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA);
  • The child car seat safety pages of RoSPA
  • Good Egg Safety for further information on safely using child restraints.

The facts

• Drivers using a hands-free or handheld mobile phone are slower at recognising and reacting to hazards.
• Research shows:
  • You are 4 times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone.
  • Your reaction times are 2 times slower if you text and drive using a hands-free phone than if you drink drive, and this increases to three times if you use a handheld phone.
• Even careful drivers can be distracted by a call or text – and a split-second lapse in concentration could result in a crash. At 30 mph a car travels 100 feet in 2.3 seconds.

The law

• It’s illegal to use a handheld mobile phone or similar device for any purpose when driving. This means you cannot hold a phone or similar device in your hand to follow a map, read and send messages, make or take calls, use the Internet, take a photo, or change a music track.
• It is also illegal to use a handheld phone or similar device when supervising a learner driver.
• These both apply even if you’re stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.
• You can use a handheld phone if you
  • need to call 999 or 112 in an emergency and it’s unsafe or impractical to stop
  • are making a contactless payment at, for example, a drive-thru
  • are parking the vehicle remotely using an App on the phone.
• You should wait until you are safely parked before using a hand-held mobile phone.
• If you’re caught using a handheld phone while driving, you’ll get 6 penalty points on your licence, a fixed penalty notice of £200 or a fine of up to £1,000 (or £2,500 if you’re a bus or lorry driver).
• You’ll also be risking a driving ban; if you get just 6 points in the first 2 years after passing your test, you will lose your licence.
• Using a hands-free device (for example, for navigation) is not a specific offence in the same way as using a hand-held mobile phone. However, if this distracts you and affects your ability to drive safely, you can still be prosecuted by the police.

The consequences

• You risk a driving ban
• Points on your licence leads to higher insurance costs
• Losing a job

Read more

• Don’t poke me I’m driving: a simulator study on smartphone use
• Role of mobile phones in motor vehicle crashes resulting in hospital attendance: a case-crossover study
• Penalty points (endorsements)

The facts

• Drink driving is illegal and puts lives at risk.
• It is not possible to say how much alcohol you can drink and stay below the limit. The way alcohol affects you depends on:
  • your weight, age, sex and metabolism (the rate your body uses energy)
  • the type and amount of alcohol you’re drinking
  • what you’ve eaten recently
  • your stress levels at the time
• So if you’re driving, it’s better to have none for the road.
• IAM RoadSmart calculates that a drink drive conviction could cost up to £70,000 as a result of fines, solicitors fees, increase in the cost of car insurance, and losing a job.

The law

There are strict alcohol limits for UK drivers:

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the legal alcohol limit for drivers is:

• 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
• 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood
• 107 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine

In Scotland (from 5 December 2014), the legal alcohol limit for drivers is lower at:

• 22 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
• 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood
• 67 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

The consequences

There are strict penalties if you are convicted of drink driving, including:

• a minimum 12 month driving ban
• a criminal record
• an unlimited fine
• up to 6 months in prison
• an endorsement on your licence for 11 years

The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs is 14 years in prison, with a minimum driving ban of two years.

In addition to these penalties are the everyday consequences of being caught drink driving which can include:

• increase in car insurance costs
• job loss
• trouble getting in to countries like the USA
• the shame of having a criminal record
• loss of independence