Drivers in Portugal are among the drivers who use their mobile phones the most while driving (74%), including hands-free use, a study has revealed.
The study ‘Global Driving Safety Survey’, developed by Libety Seguros and with the collaboration of the Portuguese Highway Prevention (PRP), covered 5,004 European and 3,006 North American drivers.
The data indicated that 74% of Portuguese use their mobile phones while driving, surpassing the Irish and the US (67%), the French (58%), the Spanish (55%) and the British (47%).
The study, designed to assess drivers’ behaviour and attitudes in countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, reveals that 69% of Portuguese respondents admitted “looking at incoming messages and calls, “52%” looking at notifications, “26%” reading emails and messages, and 18% “using social networking apps.”
In contrast, only 13% of Portuguese respondents say that they put their mobile phone out of reach while driving, and 73% say that their mobile phone is ringing, 9% silent and 18% vibration mode.
José Miguel Trigoso, president of the Portuguese Highway Prevention, warned that the use of the mobile phone by the hands free system, while legal, is as distracting due to the cognitive distraction it causes (the type distraction that most negatively influences driving).
To remind drivers of the use of mobile phones while driving, Liberty Seguros and PRP will launch by the end of the year a new awareness campaign that will include a pioneering alert on the use of the hands free system.
Source:- Source@- Safe Communitites Portugal
