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| Drivers who text 'twice as likely to crash as those who drink' | Drivers who text 'twice as likely to crash as those who drink' |
| (about 22 hours later) | |
| ‘Make it home for Christmas’ campaign urges drivers not to put lives at risk over holiday period by using mobile phones | |
| Rebecca Smithers | |
| Wed 20 Dec 2017 13.06 GMT | |
| Last modified on Wed 20 Dec 2017 19.08 GMT | |
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| Drivers are twice as likely to crash “text-driving” as drink-driving, a coalition of motoring groups and road safety bodies have warned, as they unveiled a campaign highlighting how it can cause death and injury over Christmas. | Drivers are twice as likely to crash “text-driving” as drink-driving, a coalition of motoring groups and road safety bodies have warned, as they unveiled a campaign highlighting how it can cause death and injury over Christmas. |
| With Friday expected to be the busiest day for traffic this holiday period – with about 13 million drivers making journeys of 20 miles or more – drivers are urged not to put lives at risk by texting. | With Friday expected to be the busiest day for traffic this holiday period – with about 13 million drivers making journeys of 20 miles or more – drivers are urged not to put lives at risk by texting. |
| The video, set to Bing Crosby’s classic 1943 song I’ll be home for Christmas, shows a young girl at home texting her father while he is driving home for Christmas. | The video, set to Bing Crosby’s classic 1943 song I’ll be home for Christmas, shows a young girl at home texting her father while he is driving home for Christmas. |
| As the film continues, it is revealed he has been involved in, and killed, in an accident. The film ends with a picture of father and daughter at a roadside memorial with the tagline “Make it home for Christmas”. | As the film continues, it is revealed he has been involved in, and killed, in an accident. The film ends with a picture of father and daughter at a roadside memorial with the tagline “Make it home for Christmas”. |
| “Every day around the world 3,500 people don’t make it home to their families, because they’ve been killed in a car crash,” said Saul Billingsley, the executive director of the FIA Foundation, which is supporting the campaign being aired on YouTube. “Increasingly, driver distraction is a factor. So the FIA Foundation is pleased to support this hard-hitting, life-saving message.” | “Every day around the world 3,500 people don’t make it home to their families, because they’ve been killed in a car crash,” said Saul Billingsley, the executive director of the FIA Foundation, which is supporting the campaign being aired on YouTube. “Increasingly, driver distraction is a factor. So the FIA Foundation is pleased to support this hard-hitting, life-saving message.” |
| Edmund King, the chairman of the AA Trust, said: “We know Christmas should be a happy family time and we want to keep it that way. The ‘Make it home for Christmas’ message is hard‐hitting but so are the consequences of text-driving. | Edmund King, the chairman of the AA Trust, said: “We know Christmas should be a happy family time and we want to keep it that way. The ‘Make it home for Christmas’ message is hard‐hitting but so are the consequences of text-driving. |
| “Drink-drive campaigns are common at this time of year and yet you are twice as likely to crash text-driving as drink-driving. Neither texting nor drinking should be mixed with driving if you want to make it home for Christmas.” | “Drink-drive campaigns are common at this time of year and yet you are twice as likely to crash text-driving as drink-driving. Neither texting nor drinking should be mixed with driving if you want to make it home for Christmas.” |
| Since 2011, the number of casualties caused by drivers distracted by their mobile phones has increased by a quarter. From March 2017, the fixed penalty for using a handheld mobile phone while driving doubled from £100 to £200 and penalty points from three to six. | Since 2011, the number of casualties caused by drivers distracted by their mobile phones has increased by a quarter. From March 2017, the fixed penalty for using a handheld mobile phone while driving doubled from £100 to £200 and penalty points from three to six. |
| According to Transport Research Laboratory research, reaction times are twice as long text-driving as drink-driving yet there is still a prevalence of high-profile court cases of drivers causing death and serious injuries because of texting, calling or searching for music while driving. | According to Transport Research Laboratory research, reaction times are twice as long text-driving as drink-driving yet there is still a prevalence of high-profile court cases of drivers causing death and serious injuries because of texting, calling or searching for music while driving. |
| In a parallel crackdown, drinks conglomerate Diageo is urging consumers to never drink and drive by signing up to its global programme #JoinThePact. More than 7 million adults worldwide have backed the scheme, which is supported by whisky brand Johnnie Walker’s sponsorship of Formula 1 partnerships and fronted by former and current F1 drivers including Mika Häkkinen. | In a parallel crackdown, drinks conglomerate Diageo is urging consumers to never drink and drive by signing up to its global programme #JoinThePact. More than 7 million adults worldwide have backed the scheme, which is supported by whisky brand Johnnie Walker’s sponsorship of Formula 1 partnerships and fronted by former and current F1 drivers including Mika Häkkinen. |
| Charles Ireland, the general manager of Diageo Great Britain, Ireland and France, said: “We’re proud of our track record in tackling drink-driving in the UK and around the world, but we are not complacent and are determined to do more.” | Charles Ireland, the general manager of Diageo Great Britain, Ireland and France, said: “We’re proud of our track record in tackling drink-driving in the UK and around the world, but we are not complacent and are determined to do more.” |
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