Incredibly easy to break road law could land you a ‘£200 fine and six points’

The vehicle breaker company Scrap Car Comparison has warned motorists to think twice before looking at their smart watch when behind the wheel.

The organisation highlighted a new study which found that 13 percent of UK drivers admitted to regularly checking their watch whilst driving.

David Kottuan, Operations Manager at Scrap Car Comparison advised drivers to avoid distraction by disabling internet and data connectivity on the device.

He explained: “With the easy access to distractions and the temptation unavoidable for many, consider turning off your internet on the device, or the device completely, whilst behind the wheel.

“If the action is urgent, only check your device after pulling over, when it is safe to do so, with the ignition firmly turned off.”

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Smart devices, such as these watches, follow the same rules as using a mobile phone whilst driving.

According to the Highway Code, it is illegal to touch the screen of the device while driving, even if it is only used briefly to skip a song or decline a call.

If a police officer finds a driver using a smart device whilst driving, the motorist could face fines of up to £200 and six penalty points on their licence.

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However, in addition to the fines, David also explained how using a smart watch even briefly whilst driving could lead to dangerous consequences.

He added: “Driving while using a device – even a smart watch – can put you at increased risk of having an accident and landing yourself in trouble with the law, so the best action is to avoid checking anything on your watch whilst in control of a vehicle, that could impact your driving ability.

“Removing the temptation completely, until you have finished your journey, is the only surefire way of protecting yourself and other road users.”

According to the road safety campaign group THINK, using a smart device whilst driving makes a motorist four times as likely to crash their vehicle.

Additionally, the organisation noted that, whilst the risk is less if a driver uses a hands-free device, which is legal under UK law, their reaction times may double.

THINK highlighted that it is particularly dangerous for a young driver to use a smart device while behind the wheel, with motorists found breaking the law losing their licence.

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