Illegal phone use drops after new penalty roll-out

New figures have offered some hope that the message on drivers’ illegal phone use might be getting through after tougher punishments were introduced.

According to data release by 38 police forces, around 1,700 fewer drivers were stopped for using a handheld phone at the wheel in the three months after the introduction of the new penalties compared with the previous three months.

In total 14,160 drivers were caught for the offence – which now carries a penalty of six points and a £200 fine – between March and May 2017, down from 15,861 who were stopped between December 2016 and February 2017.

However while 25 forces recorded a fall in the number of drivers caught for the offence, the figures obtained by the RAC show that 11 saw a rise and two saw the number unchanged between the two periods.