Mobiles 2022

Mobile phones

Mobiles 2022

Hands on the wheel? Hands off your phone.

THINK! has launched a new campaign to reduce handheld phone use amongst young drivers and coincide with a strengthening of the law around mobile phone use behind the wheel.

From 25 March 2022, it will be illegal to use a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel for virtually any use, including to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists or play games.

If you use a handheld phone behind the wheel, you can get a fine of up to £1,000, 6 points on your licence, and a driving ban.

The new campaign ‘Guardian Mates’ includes a series of short films and a radio ad which use the power of influence and respect between mates to help drivers tackle the temptation to pick up their phone. The campaign aims to get drivers to confront their behaviour by making mates present in the issue, unexpectedly appearing in the backseat of the car to intervene and stop them picking up the phone while driving.

These films will run across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Pinterest, as well as online video and paid video on demand.

THINK! has a core audience of 17 to 24-year-old male drivers, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than male drivers aged 25 or over. However, this campaign also includes female drivers of the same age as research shows that both young male and female drivers have similar attitudes and behaviours towards mobile phone use. They also have less awareness of the law and penalties than older age groups.

The strengthening of the law applies to the use of handheld mobile phones. There is an exemption that allows contactless payments such as those at a drive-thru so long as the vehicle is stationary. A device can also be used handsfree while driving if secured in a cradle, allowing sat nav use. Drivers must however always take responsibility for their driving and can still be charged with an offence if the police find them not to be in proper control of their vehicle.

Follow @THINKgovuk on Twitter to discover and share more content from our campaign throughout March and April.

Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply. To download any of the videos below, select your chosen video, which will bring up the video player. Click on the ‘Vimeo’ logo in the bottom right of the video player and head to our Vimeo page, where you can download directly.

The THINK! team welcomes any support you can provide in sharing the message with your audiences. For further information, including suggested post copy, download our campaign toolkit from the ‘Get this’ section below.

Good drivers – we salute you

THINK! research has found that many young men who have been driving for a while are overconfident in their driving ability and believe they can safely take risks when at the wheel.

This includes driving too fast, especially when in a hurry or on roads they think they know well, and being more likely to use a handheld mobile at the wheel.

However, research also shows that for this group of young men, the mates they silently prefer to be driven by are those who drive safely.

THINK! is launching the Good Driver campaign to help normalise this silent respect and spark a conversation about good driving by encouraging young men to see that mates respect mates who don’t take risks on the road.

The campaign has been created in collaboration with the County FA and media partners Acast, COPA90, Twitch and Jungle Creations. Content will run throughout June and July across video on demand, social media, online video, podcast and in-game streaming.

Our launch assets, created in partnership with the County FA, can be downloaded at the links below. Follow @THINKgovuk on Twitter to discover and share more content from our campaign partners throughout June and July. Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

THINK! Restart Activity

THINK! has launched a new series of social films in response to easing of Covid-19 restrictions and high-risk young male drivers returning to busier roads. 

Supporting the Government’s Safer Transport Campaign, the activity reinforces key road safety messages on speeding, drink, and mobiles, prioritising those at highest risk on the road. Young males aged 17-24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared to car drivers aged 25 and over. 

We’ve created 3 videos in collaboration with SPORTbible highlighting the importance of safe behaviours behind the wheel as young drivers return to the road. Building on the return of live sport and our audience beginning to get back on the road to meet up with friends, the videos feature legendary football commentator Jonathan Pearce.

To accompany these videos we have created a series of bitesize films tackling mobile phone distraction, speeding and drink driving targeting our priority audience, with activity running on channels including Snapchat, Instagram Stories and a Twitter sports partnership.  

Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

View and download the campaign films



 

	


	

			






	

		
Party Car
	


	

		
Young males aged 17-24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with car drivers aged 25 or over – and young male drivers are more likely to crash with passengers in the car.


Our Party Car campaign is aimed at tackling driving distractions among this high-risk group.


Launched on 30 January 2020, our latest campaign encourages passengers to ‘let a mate concentrate’.


We’ve created a suite of videos that will run across social media and online video, including Instagram stories, Snapchat and gaming apps. The films show how distracting certain behaviours – which may seem minor – can be to the driver.


To watch the videos, click on the icons below. To download any of the videos click on the on-screen ‘Vimeo’ logo and download directly from our Vimeo page. Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

	


	

			






	

		
THINK! put your phone away
	


	

		
On 1 March 2017, the penalties for using a handheld phone while driving increased. At the time of campaign launch, more than 26k drivers have been issued 6 points on their licence, and 500 new drivers have lost their licence.


THINK! campaign results show that whilst awareness of the penalty increase improved among adult drivers in England & Wales, and the perception of danger and unacceptability of using a phone while driving remained high, one in six still admitted to doing it.


 This could be due to scepticism about getting caught (37% agree that the chance of getting caught is minimal) and individuals not worrying about the consequences of getting caught (48% worry about the impact of getting caught).


This campaign mark the one year anniversary of the penalty increase by highlighting to drivers that using your phone while driving has risk to life and risk to your licence.


The campaign included a re-run of the case study film ‘life without Zoë” to view this campaign material click here .

	


	

			






	

		
Mobile phones
	


	

		
The facts


    

  • Drivers using a hands-free or handheld mobile phone are slower at recognising and reacting to hazards.
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  • Research shows:

      

    • You are 4 times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone.
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    • 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.
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  • 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.
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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.
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  • It is also illegal to use a handheld phone or similar device when supervising a learner driver.
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  • These both apply even if you’re stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.
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  • 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
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    • are making a contactless payment at, for example, a drive-thru
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    • are parking the vehicle remotely using an App on the phone.
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  • You should wait until you are safely parked before using a hand-held mobile phone.
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  • 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).
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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The consequences


    

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


	


	

			






	

		
Cabbie night out
	


	

		
We teamed up with part-time relationship counsellor and Uber driver Dr. Ofore, and LADbible to create this film.

	


	

			






	

		
Emoji campaign
	


	

		
Our emoji road safety campaign uses emojis to raises awareness about the dangers of drink driving, drug driving, not wearing a seat belt and using a mobile phone when driving.

	


	

			






	

		
Pink Kittens
	


	

		
Our new road safety campaign has launched a new ad to drive home the amount of information that is missed by people when they’re looking at their phones.











	


	

			






	

		
Designated Driver
	


	

		
The March 2017 THINK! campaign was created to inform all drivers about the tougher handheld mobile phone legislation that came into effect on March 1st 2017.


To highlight the risk of using your handheld phone while driving, we have collaborated with the AA Charity Trust to create a film that shows texting and driving is more dangerous than drinking and driving.