A furious passenger whose loved one was mown down by a texting driver has released shocking footage of an ‘idiot’ female motorist using her phone at the wheel.
The man filmed the footage on the A419 dual carriageway in Cricklade, Wilts, last month after spotting the brazen driver in front of the vehicle he was travelling in.
In his video, which has racked 1.5 million views on social media, the woman driving a silver Polo can be seen continuing her text conversation while changing lanes, forcing the car behind her to slam on the brakes.
A woman on her phone, believed to be texting, whilst driving on the A419 northbound
The anonymous passenger said the woman, filmed on August 28, did not even realise she was being recorded despite him trying to get her attention.
He said the incident was particularly infuriating for him as he previously lost a family member due to reckless driving.
The man said: ‘As we went to overtake the car, the silver polo cut in front of us, making us hit the brakes.
‘Then we saw she was texting, so the driver tried to get her attention by using the horn and flashing.
‘She still kept texting away, so I started to film mainly out of anger and disbelief of the fact someone could be oblivious while on their phone, while on a duel carriageway.
‘I see it all the time as I am on the road every day, I’d say at least one a day.
Man who shot clip said he lost a family member in the past due to reckless driving
Woman keeps texting on her phone while changing lanes – forcing car behind to ‘slam brakes’
‘I am just glad that I was a passenger and I caught it on camera.
‘It frustrates me to the highest as I lost a family member to one of these idiots, and they walked away from it.
‘I feel this is my way of doing something for my loved one.
‘It won’t bring them back, but it might stop others going through the pain of losing a loved one the same way.’
Wiltshire Police have been contacted for comment.
A recent Department for Transport report suggested that an astonishing 500 people a week are being caught using a hand-held mobile phone while driving.
The new figures reveal that more than 26,000 motorists were caught committing the offence in the 12 months to March.
Of those, 500 had their licences revoked because they had been driving for less than two years.
Drivers face a £200 fine and six points on their licence if they are caught making a call, texting or even simply holding their phone while behind the wheel.
The tough new penalties were introduced in March last year following a number of fatal crashes. Previously, those convicted of using their phones were fined £100 and given three penalty points.