Answering an e-mail from a colleague, taking part in a videoconference meeting. Teleworking increases dangerous driving behaviour, according to a by Sanef in France. The concessionary company for motorways in the north and east of the country conducted a representative online survey of 869 individuals between 13 and 15 October.

The result: 73% of drivers use their phone while driving while 15% say they use it more than before the pandemic. One in ten take part in telephone or video meetings while driving. More than half (54%) of drivers answer calls and 34% write or read text messages.

Telephone use at the wheel rises to 81% among regular drivers and 84% among 24 to 35-year-olds. Sanef has therefore launched an awareness campaign.

The company does not manage the motorways used every day by border workers between France and Luxembourg. It does, however, manage the A4, which passes through Metz on the way from Strasbourg to Paris.

A growing phenomenon in Luxembourg

In the grand duchy, there has been no study on teleworking while driving, but the mobility ministry has nevertheless noted an “increase in the use of mobile phones while driving”, which it describes as "very worrying".

It plans to launch an awareness-raising campaign on the subject on 25 November, which affects not only motorists but also pedestrians who cross the road with their eyes glued to their screens, another behaviour deemed dangerous.

According to the latest report published in 2021 on fatal accidents on public roads, lack of paying attention or distraction was the cause in two out of 21 cases.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.