Road safety charity calls on social media companies update policy to deter illegal driving
It's after Darryl Anderson was jailed for more than 17 years following a car crash which killed 8 month old Zachery Blades and his aunt, Karlene Warner, who was 30.
A road safety charity believes more can be done to prevent people using their mobile when behind the wheel of a car following the deaths of an eight month old baby and his aunt in County Durham.
IAM RoadSmart claims social media companies can play a vital role in deterring people from uploading and sharing pictures and videos of illegal driving on the roads.
The comments come following the case of 38 year old Darryl Anderson, who was jailed for more than 17 years for causing the deaths by dangerous driving of Karlene Warner, 30, and her eight-month-old nephew Zackary Blades.
Anderson had been drinking, speeding at 141 miles per hour and in the seconds before the crash used his phone to take a photo of his speedometer.
It happened between Chester-le-Street and Durham at around 3.15am on Friday, May 31, 2024.
Zackary's mother, Sharlona Warner, who was driving the Peugeot, suffered minor injuries.
Director of Policy and Standards Nicholas Lyes said: “Yet again, we are seeing tragedy on our roads where drink-driving and illegal phone use have been contributory factors in a fatal collision.
"In this day of advancing technology, social media companies can play a vital role in deterring people from uploading and sharing pictures and videos of illegal driving on our roads.
"If we can reduce the temptation for drivers to do this, we may start to break the lethal cycle of using a phone illegally at the wheel for likes and comments online.
"We call on all social media companies to start updating their policies which either blocks such content or removes it swiftly from their platforms and hands the offending material over to the police."