TRANSPORT Strong support for phones ban

Four out of five people want drivers to be banned from using hand- held mobile phones in their cars, according to a survey published today by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

RoSPA has stepped up its campaign for a change in the law after recent high-profile cases such as the businessman jailed for causing the death of another motorist just after using his mobile phone.

The roads minister, Baroness Hayman, has said she would consider introducing a specific ban, as well as inserting a warning in the Highway Code and telling mobile phone retailers to caution customers about the dangers of using telephones while driving.

Fifty per cent of those polled said the use in cars of any mobile phone - including hands-free versions - should be outlawed, while seven in 10 people said they had seen people driving dangerously while using a mobile phone.

A total of 1,445 people were surveyed in the NOP Solutions poll, with 92% saying they believed hand-held mobile phones were dangerous and 55% saying that using a hand-free phone while driving was also unsafe.