Fury as police say: Send drivers using phones on a course
POLICE chiefs are threatening to defy the Government over tough new penalties for drivers caught using their mobile phones behind the wheel.
Under rules due to come into effect in March, drivers making a call or texting should be hit with a £200 fine and six penalty points on their licence, up from the present £100 and three points.
The move follows public outrage at the growing number of innocent people killed or maimed by motorists distracted by using their phones or tablet devices.
But in a shock move, police chiefs have told Ministers they want to retain the right to spare some motorists the harsh penalties – and allow them to choose road safety courses instead.
Darrell Martin, whose brother Lee was killed by a texting van driver, said last night: ‘I think they should get six points – that’s a clear signal not to use your phone in the car. It’s a massive distraction.
‘If they let people do courses, it’s not a clear message. They need to say: You’re not allowed to use them.’
Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, national lead for roads policing, told a conference last week that police had to be ‘proportionate’ in their response if, for instance, a driver was using a phone while in a traffic jam.
But Roger Lawson, campaign director for the Association of British Drivers, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I’m astonished the police are ignoring the Government on this. They seem to think they are a law unto themselves. They claim they only cover their administration costs, but they are making money out of these courses.’
Last year, the Department for Transport said it would double the penalty amid growing concern at the scale of the problem. In one horrendous case in 2016, a mother and three children died when a lorry driver who was scrolling through music on his mobile hit their stationary car at 50mph.
Ms Davenport, Gloucestershire’s Chief Constable, said: ‘I had a letter from the Secretary of State whose strong view is we should not offer courses that people using a mobile phone should go on.
‘I wrote back and said I do have some sympathy with that view but you have to be proportionate.
For example, if you are stationary in a traffic jam and aren’t moving anywhere, I don’t think it is appropriate to be given six points. How- ever, chief constables will make the decision about how they enforce it, but the default should be fines and points rather than drivers being put on a course.’
Drivers avoid receiving fines or penalty points, but must pay up to £100 to take a course. Forces get about £40 and the provider the rest.
The courses are just one part of a highly profitable industry, known as the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme. Latest figures show two million people attended awareness lessons between April 2014 and September 2015, most for speeding but some for being distracted or not wearing seatbelts.
Drivers caught using phones were among the 100,000 who took a four-hour course called What’s Driving Us?, which is aimed at those who knew they were committing an offence.
Offenders are only meant to be able go on the courses once every three years. Until recently, a database was operated by a private firm, NDORS Ltd, run by former chief constable Meredydd Hughes. Accounts show its turnover was £80million in the past 18 months.
Last night, Whitehall sources played down suggestions of a row, saying operational decisions were up to police chiefs rather than Ministers.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘We are sending a clear and simple message – do not use your phone while driving.
‘The default position for all police who catch someone using a mobile phone is to issue a fine and penalty points, which will double to £200 and six points from March 1.’