There are plans to double the current penalty for making phone calls or texting at the wheel.
The current fine for the offence is accompanied by three points but ministers are planning to make it six points, signalling the seriousness with which they regard the issue. In 2013, 23 people lost their lives on the roads as a direct result of mobile phone use.
The new crackdown could mean that a driver committing the offence twice in three years could expect to lose their license and a newly qualified driver would lose it after only one offence.
Recent research has suggested that using a phone while driving can be more dangerous than the effects of drugs and alcohol. Sending a text is said to reduce a driver’s reaction time by 37% and making a phone call by 46%. Cannabis was found to slow reactions by 21% and drinking at the legal limit 13%.
Much of the new thinking from government was prompted by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner who said: ‘If I was able tomorrow, I would say you get six points for driving while using a phone. The problem at the moment is we are dishing out lots of tickets, somebody gets three points and they have got another three chances.’
Motoring groups including the RAC are not convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect and have called for alternative measures to support the drive to reduce the culture of mobile use.
Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter
| Popular news stories |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
