AT LAST: WAR ON MOBILE MENACES
MP hails the Mirror’s campaign as distracted drivers face crackdown
THE Transport Secretary is on a personal mission to make using mobiles at the wheel as unacceptable as drink-driving, the Mirror can reveal.
Ahead of tougher punishments being introduced this week, Chris Grayling praised our campaign to ban the use of phones while driving.
Yet two-fifths (39%) of motorists were unaware penalties will double from Wednesday, a poll found. And motor- ing organisations warned the punishments did not go far enough. Mike Bristow, of road safety charity Brake, said: “Drivers simply aren’t getting the message that using a mobile phone while driving increases your chance of crashing. “We want the Government to go further and impose a minimum fine of £1,000 to discourage mobile phone use behind the wheel.”
The RAC’s Pete Williams added: “Stronger penalties, targeted enforcement and education about the risks of distracted driving are crucial.” In November, 8,000 drivers were caught using mobiles in one week, equivalent to 47 an hour.
The law change follows a series of high-profile cases. In 2015, 22 people were killed and 99 seriously injured in road accidents where mobile phone use was a contributory actor, latest figures show.
Home Office data shows just 16,900 drivers got fixed penalty notices for illegally using a phone in England and Wales that year, compared with 123,100 in 2011.
And earlier this month, the RAC found almost three in five motorists with “traffic offence reports” in 2015 went on awareness courses, rather than getting points or fines.
Co-op Insurance’s poll, which revealed drivers’ lack of awareness of new penalties, also found last week that 54% did not believe the law change would be a deterrent.
DOUBLING fines to £200 and penalty points to six for drivers caught using mobile phones behind the wheel will hopefully encourage motorists to obey the law.
The Daily Mirror campaigned hard for tougher punishments to save victims of selfish drivers who risk maiming and killing others.
Pulling over to chat or text is no hardship and if the new regime doesn’t deter idiots, the authorities will need to revisit the sanctions – throwing the book at serial offenders.