NEWS The ban on driving while using a mobile phone has been stepped up a gear, with the government now planning to see offenders slapped with penalty points and an increased fine.
Those caught breaking the law are currently fined a minimum of £30. If the proposed amendments are passed, the fine will double to £60 and three penalty points will be added to offenders' licences - the same as being caught speeding.
The fine was introduced in December last year due to concerns that careless drivers were causing accidents by using their phones at the wheel. Now, it seems, MPs don't believe the £30 fine is enough to deter drivers from using their mobiles on the move.
Thames Valley police were asked to take a more proactive stance on the whole issue last month. Off-duty officers were requested to take down the licence plates of anyone they spotted breaking the ban. The chat-happy drivers then received a letter warning them they'd been spotted and suggesting they stop before they get eyeballed by a man in uniform.
Comments
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1. anonymous
About time - holding a mobile phone while driving is WAY more dangerous than speeding. I will admit, inappropriate speed is not too good, but removing one hand from the wheel and concentrating on a phone conversation just turns people into oblivious morons. Even pedestrians on phones seem to be blind. I say whack up the penalties even more for phone users in cars!!
2. Simon Jefferson
The 3 points and £60 is still not a deterrent.
Driving with the phone clamped to your ear is a leat driving without due care and attention and at worst dangerous driving.
Perhaps the penalties should be 6 points and a compulsory driving course or £1000 fine.
I have seen at least 14 people in the past months driving whilst holding their phone. What is £20 for a cheap kit compared to the safety of other road users and the driver his/herself.
3. anonymous
Cyborgs who drive have only got half a brain. If they use half of that to chat, what's left for driving? The penalty should be the same as for driving whilst under the influence of alcohol. A ban and a large fine. All that's left is finding a way to enforce the law..
4. anonymous
A cigarette burns at a whopping 700 degrees celcius, fills the cabin with smoke and ivolves the driver in it's ignition. The potential for acident is legion - but talking on a phone is more ... dangerous? 80% of people drive 80% of the time with one hand on the wheel. This, along with seatbelts, is another example of the big brother state fining citizens because they MIGHT cause a problem. Stop and think about that. Do you really support a system that punishes before the fact? All the while people can let off explosives 3 months either side of bonfire night until 5 am, and oh, the police can do nothing, because 'no crime is being committed' Rally?
5. AA Man
Definitly wack the fine up, £60 is no way near enough! I've seen so many drivers drifting all over the place due to lack of concerntration. However I hate the whole penalty points system and think it should be scrapped.
Huge fines, though.
6. anonymous
I love the idea of a compulsary driver training course, but have one little problem with it. Will drivers take it seriously ?
I recently went on the Met's Bikesafe course and a number of people asked why there wasn't a Carsafe course as car drivers are identified so often as the cause of Motobike accidents and apparently the reason is simple in areas when speederes have been offered the option of £300 on a weekend course or go to court and have a chat with the judge, in one area 90% went for the chat with the judge.
It just seems most car drivers are so brilliant they won't admit they could benefit from more training.
7. Evan Laster
More grief for motorists just cos the cops are crap at carching muggers rapists and burgalrs
8. Russell
Perhaps we should all take the matter a little bit into our own hands...as someone who rides a motorbike (as well as a car with hands free), I have lost count of the times over the last few years that drivers have been even more oblivious to our presence whilst chatting to their boss or girlfriend with the phone in one hand and then attempting to do a U turn or change lanes in front of me! Needless to say I then have to use my horn to wake them up accompanied by a suitable signal. Oh how I have wanted to grab the phone from the convertable and despatch it into the nearest ditch!