200 drivers a day flout new laws on mobiles at wheel
END THE MOBILE MADNESS
DRIVERS are ignoring tougher penalties for using their mobiles behind the wheel, figures revealed yesterday.
More than 200 motorists a day were caught using their phones illegally in the four weeks after more severe punishments came into force.
Police forces across Britain penalised almost 6,000 drivers – equivalent to one every seven minutes – in less than a month after the law changed, despite repeated warnings about the potentially deadly consequences.
Increases in penalties and fines for using a handheld phone behind the wheel were introduced after the Daily Mail’s End the Mobile Madness campaign to highlight the dangers.
From March 1, motorists caught using their phones while driving faced six penalty points on their licence and a £200 fine, compared with three points and £100 previously.
The changes meant newly qualified drivers could lose their licence for sending a single text message.
But figures obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed police forces caught 5,977 motorists using their phones in the four weeks after the legislation came into effect during a nationwide crackdown.
The latest statistics are down compared with a week-long crackdown in November 2016, when police caught 8,000 drivers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But seven police forces did not respond to the latest FoI request, so the true figure is likely to be higher.
Worryingly, one man was spotted doing his online banking while driving along the M5 near Birmingham. Another driver was spotted on his phone while behind the wheel of a school minibus with ten children on board in Manchester.
And in Bournemouth, the driver of a 7.5-tonne lorry was seen using his phone while negotiating a roundabout.
The Metropolitan Police registered the highest number of offenders, with 2,037 drivers caught using a handheld phone in London – the equivalent of 70 motorists every day.
Thames Valley Police recorded the second largest total at 478, followed by Police Scotland with 339, Hampshire Police with 280 and Cheshire Police with 224. In Kent, the driver of a lorry was fined for texting while thundering along the M2.
And in Norfolk, police stopped a woman who was texting about a lost puppy while driving.
Research has found that motorists using a mobile are around four times more likely to be involved in a crash than those who are not distracted.
Twenty-two people were killed and 99 seriously injured in accidents on Britain’s roads in 2015 where a motorist using a mobile was a contributory factor.
Despite this statistic, a study by the RAC found that a third of drivers had used a handheld mobile phone to make a call while at the wheel, while half admitted they had used their phones in stationary traffic, which is also illegal.
Steve Gooding, of motor research charity the RAC Foundation, said: ‘Driving is a safetycritical activity that requires our full attention. Hands need to be on the wheel and eyes looking out of the windscreen, not down at the phone screen.’
Road safety charity Brake has called for even higher penalties to deter drivers.
Spokesman Jack Kushner said: ‘Driver distraction is a growing menace and it’s worrying that drivers don’t seem to be getting the message.’
Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, said forces were committed to tackling the dangers posed by mobile phone use behind the wheel.
Police want to make using a mobile while driving as socially unacceptable as drink-driving.
He said: ‘ Drivers need to understand that this is not a minor offence and you will be prosecuted under new, tougher penalties.’