Shaving, applying make-up and using mobile phones in cars are still common practices among drivers despite the risks involved.
A third of respondents to an AA survey said they saw drivers grooming themeslves and although shaving and putting on make-up while driving aren’t mentioned in legislation it’s possible to be prosecuted for “driving without reasonable consideration”.
About 83 per cent of respondents said they saw drivers holding a mobile phone with 84 per cent saying they saw drivers using a round about without signalling correctly, both activites which are explicitly forbidden.
A further 56 per cent of those polled by the AA said they regularly witnessed motorists texting when driving, while 67 per cent see fellow drivers texting as they are stationary at red lights.
An offence is committed when a driver is holding a mobile phone while driving. This can be in the hand or by supporting or cradling it with another part of the body, such as between the neck and shoulder. It is not a requisite that a person is actually engaged in a conversation. Similarly a person texting, or accessing the internet or emails, is also committing an offence if holding the phone in similar fashion.
Other regular driver malpractices include accessing a satellite navigation or similar device in a cradle while on the move – soon to be an offence under new road traffic rules.
AA consumer affairs director Conor Faughnan said drivers with an ounce of sense should know better. “It is worrying to think that people are still taking risks depsite the fact that everyone with an ounce of sense knows the dangers. There are stricter provisions on mobile devices that will soon become law and there are really no excuses. “Certainly not for personal grooming; that’s ridiculous behaviour.”