Seatbelt and Mobile Phone Usage Survey Scotland, 2014


Organisation: Transport Scotland
Date uploaded: 9th March 2015
Date published/launched: February 2015


This publication presents statistics on the proportion of vehicle occupants observed wearing seatbelts and drivers using mobile phones in Scotland from a survey commissioned jointly by Transport Scotland and the Department for Transport. This is the first Scotland-wide mobile phone observation study which has been conducted.

The figures show that overall mobile phone use by car drivers in Scotland is low, with 1.3% of drivers observed using a hand-held phone in free-flowing traffic and 1.6% while stopped at traffic lights. The majority of these drivers were observed with a phone in their hand rather than at their ear, suggesting that most use whilst driving may be for functions other than making a call such as texting and using social media.

The mobile phone usage rate amongst drivers stopped at traffic lights in Scotland is substantially lower than the 2.7% of car drivers observed using a hand-held mobile phone in such conditions in England, as shown in comparable statistics produced by the Department for Transport.

The figures also show that drivers aged 17-29yrs were more likely to be observed using a phone than older drivers.

The survey also collected data on the use of seatbelts by drivers and passengers in Scotland. Compared to when the last survey was carried out in 2009, seatbelt use by car drivers has increased by almost 3% with 97.8% observed wearing a seatbelt in 2014, while use amongst front seat passengers in cars has increased by 1% to 98%. There has also been an 11% increase in seatbelt use among rear seat car passengers with 99% observed wearing a seatbelt in 2014. This is substantially higher than the rates seen in England in where 87.7% of passengers in the rear seats of cars were observed using a seatbelt in 2014.

In Scotland, drivers of other vehicles, such as vans and lorries, were more likely to be found making use of a phone in free-flowing traffic than those in cars, with 2.9% observed doing so. Lower levels of seatbelt use were also found amongst occupants of such vehicles, with 88.5% of drivers and 87.3% of front seat passengers observed wearing a seatbelt.

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