UK Motorists Using Twitter While Driving

­The increasing functionality of mobile phone technology and growing addiction to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are driving motorists to distraction now more than ever before, with motorists openly admitting to breaking the law by 'tweeting' whilst driving.

According to research from UK based car insurance company, esure, nearly one in ten (nine per cent) motorists questioned are using mobile internet services and social networks whilst driving - to tweet, text and update their Facebook profiles.

Analysis of Twitter from esure found that an average of 52 motorists per day are even flaunting their dangerous use of social media behind the wheel with one person even stating, "(I'm) driving with my knees and peeling an orange…Probably not the safest thing to be doing." The use of any mobile internet services and social networks whilst driving can have potentially fatal consequences as drivers are distracted from the road ahead.

A selection of driving 'Tweets' from the past week:

1. Tweet - "Driving with my knees and peeling an orange…Probably not the safest thing to be doing."
2. Tweet - "Driving school bus"
3. Tweet - "Irresponsible twitter driving woo!"
4. Tweet - "Driving up to Newcastle while we Tweet!"
5. Tweet - "Driving home in the rain…almost crashed!"
6. Tweet - "Trying my best to stay awake while driving"
7. Tweet - "Awake, hungover, and driving"
8. Tweet - "Is it wise to use Twitter while driving? Probably not"
9. Tweet - "Intoxicated driving. Let's hope this works out"
10. Tweet - "Twittering and driving…" (too many examples to be sure which was used!)

Whilst the research shows 92 per cent of UK motorists know it is illegal to use their hand-held phone while driving, 45 per cent of motorists openly admit to breaking the law by texting and making calls while driving and, with tens of thousands of mobile phone applications widely available, it seems that motorists are finding it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to reach for their mobile devices whilst driving.

More Here: Cellular News