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Driving: Social Media

Asked by Shivani RajaConservativeDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 8 September 2026UIN 22503

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is running targeted public awareness campaigns to deter drivers aged 17 to 24 from accessing social media behind the wheel.

Answered by Department for Transport

THINK! delivers campaigns to change attitudes and behaviours among those at most risk, primarily men aged 17-24 who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than other drivers.

THINK! communications activity addresses mobile phone use, including a radio advert asking drivers to ‘Put your phone away’ runs throughout the year.

In 2022, the Government’s THINK! campaign ran a national paid media campaign on the dangers of using handheld phones while driving, timed with new laws that criminalised almost all phone use at the wheel. The campaign targeted 17–24-year-olds who were identified as high-risk for this behaviour. Mobile phone campaigns also ran in 2017 and 2018 after the 2017 increase in penalties for driving while using a handheld phone.

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