Tougher phone laws for drivers

road safety: New penalties for using mobiles at the wheel come into force

Police Scotland has said it will be next week before it reveals how many motorists fell foul of new, tougher penalties for using a mobile phone while driving.

From yesterday, drivers caught on the phone or texting behind the wheel will receive a £200 fine and six penalty points on their licence.

This means anyone caught using a mobile within two years of passing their test will automatically lose their licence. New drivers will lose it immediately.

In England, a number of people were caught, including a journalist sent out to cover the launch of the new penalties and a driver texting about her missing puppy.

But Police Scotland said it would be next week before they revealed how many drivers on Scotland’s roads had been caught flouting the law despite a high-profile campaign and social media blitz on the day of the launch.

The Courier asked Police Scotland’s local and national press offices for figures but no information was provided.

By noon yesterday, Dorset Police said they had stopped 31 drivers on their mobiles.

One of these was a driver of a 7.5 tonne lorry using his phone while travelling around a roundabout in the Bournemouth area, the force said.

Norfolk Police tweeted that it had stopped 11 drivers on their phones in 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, more than 20 motoring offences were detected by officers from Kent’s roads policing unit in the morning. Of these, 12 drivers were stopped for using their phones.

Thames Valley Police said it had stopped 11 people for using phones, including two new drivers, in its first patrol of the day.

Other police forces are expected to release figures at the end of the week-long national crackdown.

Around 3,600 motorists were handed penalties during a similar initiative last month.

New drivers can have their licence revoked if they get six penalty points in their first two years on the road, which could now be the result of sending a single text message.

More experienced motorists can lose their licence if they receive 12 points in a three-year period.

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, latest figures show.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said increasing fixed penalties will be a “strong deterrent”.