A whopping 57% of UK van drivers are running the risk of getting points on their licence.
More than half of van drivers are still physically check their mobile phones while driving which could result in six penalty points and a fine of £200, according to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles research.
Tighter rules were introduced with Regulation 110 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 banning the use of all handheld devices behind the wheel, but despite the harsh penalties, only 7% fewer van drivers are reportedly no longer checking their phones since the survey was last carried out in 2023.
Worse still, one in 10 van drivers say that they admit to not only checking their phone while driving, but also doing so “often”.
A recently released Department for Transport survey found that van drivers are more than twice as likely to use their mobile phone while driving, compared to all other types of drivers. VW's research also found that 98% of van drivers questioned still had in-built technology hands-free driving systems in their vans.
Their compulsive checking of their mobile phones wasn't even the result of not using the hands-free systems either, with 93% of those questioned in the survey saying that they were using the technology at least once during the working day.
Understandably, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is now urging van drivers to go hands-free while on the road and points to its range of services in new vans like the Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo and forthcoming Volkswagen Transporter that allow hands-free calls and app usage.
Results from the survey indicate that many van drivers are transitioning to such technology, with 82% making up to 10 hands-free calls per day.
UK van drivers spent an average 4.88 hours per day in their van during 2022, but that figure has increased to 6.24 hours in 2023.
