The dangers of texting whilst driving are being brought to the attention of young people through a variety of campaigns. This week a video released by the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has gone viral which depicts a young American driver being killed because she picked up her phone to answer a text. Similarly, West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service have launched a campaign called Safe Drive Stay Alive – a series of clips being shown to teenagers which highlight the dangers of a number of common driving hazards including texting whilst driving.

Studies have shown that texting at the wheel causes more deaths in teenage drivers than drink-driving suggesting that this is a problem that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately texting does not carry the same stigma as drink-driving with campaigns on safe driving mainly targeting drink and drugs whilst driving.

It is illegal to use a hand-held phone whilst driving; a motorist caught doing so can be prosecuted for careless or dangerous driving and even face 7 or more years imprisonment if someone is killed in an accident due to the texting.

However, until a nationwide campaign is launched highlighting the dangers of texting behind the wheel it is unlikely that many drivers, in particular young drivers, will refrain from texting whilst driving.

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Scotland’s transport minister, Keith Brown, has hit out at the UK government over a delay in proposals to restrict driving licences for young drivers. Brown is keen to press ahead with graduated driver licensing (GDL) which would place some restrictions on young drivers; however, the Scottish government cannot introduce its own legislation as driver licensing is reserved to the UK government.

The Scottish government claimed that, despite making up just 10% of licence holders, people ages 17 to 25 account for 23% of drivers involved in road accidents causing injury. GDL puts certain restrictions on newly qualified drivers and is already enforced in Australia, New Zealand and parts of the USA. Such restrictions include a ban on driving at night, lower maximum speed limits and limiting the number of passengers in the vehicle.

Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone argued: ‘the testing process appears incapable of identifying young drivers who are most at risk of being involved in accidents’. This is because those at risk were often the most confident during the testing process and suggested more training might be the answer. He argues that the minimum driving test age should remain at 17 but that people should be able to start learning at 16, giving them the opportunity of a full year under instruction before the practical test.

Conservative MP Justin Tomlinson has introduced his Graduated Driving Licence Scheme Bill at Westminster and the first reading in the Commons is now scheduled for June 2014.

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According to Professor Russell Foster, a neuroscientist at Oxford University, an underlying health issue can seriously and dangerously compromise our concentration when driving.

People who snore in their sleep can nod off at the wheel. According to research, snoring is caused when the muscles in the throat relax. If the throat closes completely, you stop breathing for a couple of seconds, and the brain realising it is being starved of oxygen, forces you to wake up. this can happen up to 100 times a night disrupting the sleep cycle. This is termed sleep apnoea syndrome, the effect of which is feeling tired all day which can day make you fall asleep at the wheel, especially on long journeys.

A heavy cold or flu can drop our concentration when driving by more than 50% according to research at Cardiff University, which is equivalent to downing more than four double whiskies. Sneezing can also make a driver drive blind for up to 50 feet. An increasing number of adults are developing hay fever for the first time which may cause them to sneeze uncontrollably which is a driving hazard, in particular on a motorway, as we tend to close our eyes when we sneeze.

Medication can even affect driving – in particular, anti-histamine and codeine can cause drowsiness hence slow reaction times, low concentration levels and blurry eyesight.

If you have an accident and only discover afterwards it was due to an underlying health issue, you may lose your licence or worse. It is your responsibility to ensure you are healthy enough to drive.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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