Put Your Phone Away
From today (1 March) the penalties for using a hand held mobile phone whilst behind the wheel increase to 6 points and a £200 fine.
Road Safety Officers across the country are making the public aware of the dangers of this offence and all 43 police forces in England and Wales are participating in a week of enforcement action against drivers who flout the law.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Roads Policing, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport said:
“These new penalties reflect the seriousness of the offence and will strengthen the deterrent against using a mobile phone at the wheel. We need people to understand that this is not a minor offence that they can get away with.
“Across this week officers will continue to use innovative and intelligence-led tactics to catch and penalise people who are driving while distracted by a mobile phone. However, this is an attitudinal problem that we cannot simply enforce away by putting more officers on the roads.
“This issue has to begin with personal responsibility by drivers. We know that people are more likely to report other drivers using a phone than to view themselves as guilty of it. That has to change.
“Tougher penalties are a step in the right direction, but police forces and partners are working to make it socially unacceptable to use a mobile phone at the wheel. It’s about more than what you might have to pay as a penalty – you could hurt or kill an innocent person on the roads by checking a text or taking a call.
“Don’t do it – and don’t let others take the risk either.”