Drivers’ phone records checked after crashes

'Phone and driving' increases accident risk by 20% say experts

Increase in phone-related road accidents

THE LATEST clampdown on using mobile phones at the wheel is giving police the right to check records after road traffic accidents.

Access to data will need a court order as part of crash investigations; officers will not be permitted to carry out onthe-spot roadside checks.

It is the newest weapon designed to fight back against motorists being distracted by using phones whilst driving; the illegal practice is seen as one of the main threats to safety on Spanish roads - studies have discovered it increases the risk of an accident by 20%.

Supreme Court prosecutor Bartolome Vargas, coordinator of Road Safety in Spain, has sent out the order and underlined the need for judicial authorisation.

According to the Guardia Civil it will allow police officers who suspect a driver was distracted by their phone to appeal to the courts for permission to request a detailed report from the service provider to examine the times and duration of calls.

However, the data will not be the overall determining factor. For example, a call made using a vehicle’s Bluetooth system would be acceptable; it will be up to investigators to decide whether the circumstances of an accident merit a request to see call logs.

Prosecution

At present, using a mobile at the wheel attracts a €200 fine and three points being docked from a driver’s licence. If an accident results in a fatality or serious injury, the case can lead to a criminal prosecution and a custodial sentence.

The Guardia Civil is understood to also be seeking the power to take action against drivers who use mobile apps to warn of police roadblocks – used as spot checks on motorists under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and on vehicles themselves.

Police believe officers should have the right to examine a phone for such software and impose fines for their use – it is claimed traffic flow always falls when a checkpoint is set up; blaming the technology for warning drivers.

Legal experts believe this would be 'completely unworkable'; they believe such a measure would be against the constitutional right to private communication and infringe the accepted rule of law.

he legal opinion was: 'Without a prior court order, officers cannot examine a driver’s mobile phone or its content.'