Direct Line Group welcomes the new iOS 11 Apple 'do not disturb' feature, which identifies when you may be driving and will automatically silence incoming alerts and notifications reducing distractions in the car.

As Britain’s leading motor insurer1, Direct Line Group has played a vital role in highlighting the importance of road safety across the UK. As well as working with road safety charity, BRAKE, Direct Line Group launched its third Road Safety Dashboard with the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (“PACTS”). The pioneering tool uses Department of Transport statistics to produce an index that ranks the road safety record of individual parliamentary constituencies.

In addition to this, Direct Line Group has launched a number of initiatives to encourage safe driving in the UK, most recently an app called Shotgun. The app encourages drivers between the aged of 17 – 25 to be ‘master of the road’ with a combination of positive reinforcements that will give back to new road users when they demonstrate safe driving.

Paul Geddes, CEO of Direct Line Group, said: We welcome this new approach by Apple to encourage safer driving on UK roads. Awareness is growing about the risks associated with distracted driving, and the huge costs to society that it creates. We have welcomed the government's increased focus on this, and the recent increase in penalties, but mobile phone usage is not always easy for the police to detect, and we, as a society, need to look at prevention as well as enforcement.

“We have long believed that smartphone manufacturers, mobile phone operators and app providers can do more to discourage interaction with phones while the user is driving. The initiative from Apple is a first step, and we hope others will follow."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Ngozi Emeagi
Senior Financial Communications Manager
Tel: 01651 831723