Hands-free: Legal, but dangerous

In this edition, we need to talk about hands-free, as new research emphasises the dangers of hands-free phone use while driving. Now, hands-free use by drivers is not against the law, but an extensive body of research has shown it's no safer than hand-held phone use and a project called ‘Are you a focused driver?’ has been encouraging police officers to avoid recommending hands-free to drivers as an alternative to hand-held. It may make a driver legal, but it does nothing to reduce the distraction risk. Here to tell us more is the co-author of the project; Professor of applied cognitive psychology at the Open University, Gemma Briggs. Find out more about Project EDWARD here.Project EDWARD have replaced the annual week of action with a strategically-planned year-round programme of activity, guided by this year’s theme – Data-driven actions for safe mobility. The programme will involve members of the EDWARD team working with key partners to facilitate events, symposiums, webinars, discussions, podcast episodes and online activity… with the specific aim of sharing examples of evidence-led good practice that supports the Safe System.