Phone law confusion catching drivers out

Motorists prosecuted for using mobile satnav apps as police give conflicting advice on what is an offence

DRIVERS are being prosecuted for using their mobile phones as satnavs because “conflicting” advice from ministers and police forces is creating confusion about what is legal, motoring organisations have said.

As the New Year bank holiday exodus gets under way, millions of drivers risk being caught out because of what barristers have described as a lack of clarity around the use of navigation apps.

Tough new penalties were introduced in April to stop drivers using phones to make calls and send text messages while driving, which can also extend to using phones to follow maps, but official advice has lacked consistency. The Department for Transport tells drivers not to “use” their phone at the wheel, but police in some areas have said drivers must not “touch” their phone or even that they must put their phone “out of sight”.

The confusion extends to the courts, where some drivers are convicted for fleetingly holding their phone while at the wheel, while others are cleared after using their phone for longer periods.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s own guidelines on prosecuting people who use mobile phones at the wheel concedes that “there has been some debate about what ‘use’ means”.

Those who are convicted can expect six penalty points on their licence and a minimum £200 fine, up from three points and a £100 fine before the changes. Since the new rules were imposed, more than 200 drivers a day have been prosecuted for illegal mobile phone use, the equivalent of one every seven minutes. It means that courts and the police are raising at least £40,000 per day in fines, the equivalent of £14.6million per year.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said the lack of clear advice was a cause for concern.

“It shows that there is conflicting advice out there and it is therefore not surprising there is some confusion among drivers,” he said.

“There have been Department for Transport campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers and we have also done one, and it would be fair to say that we haven’t gone into the minute details of the law.”

The issue was highlighted when Daily Telegraph columnist Fraser Nelson described yesterday how he had been prosecuted for picking up his phone while stopped at traffic lights after it slipped out of its dashboard cradle, where he had been using it as a satnav. He looked at the screen before stowing it in the car door pocket, and ended up with a conviction.

He made no complaint about being prosecuted, but found the rules on mobile phone use in cars to be unclear.

Donal Lawler, the secretary of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “The law is open to interpretation because the offence is using a mobile phone rather than holding a mobile phone.

“It’s absolutely right that we should get to a situation where the lay person has clarity, particularly in court.”