Tougher penalties to drive out motorists who flout mobile rules

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The government has raised the stakes for motorists who drive while using their mobiles as from today.

Rather than getting away with a slapped wrist and a £30 fine, those caught mobile-handed will now automatically have three points added to their licence, in addition to being hit with a £60 fine.

The law is being hardened to act as more of a deterrent to those who put themselves and others at risk by what amounts to dangerous driving as they are not completely focused on the road when using a hand-held phone.

When the new law was announced last month, Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander revealed figures that showed that, while 92 per cent of people agree with the tougher stance, a worrying 21 per cent of drivers still break the rules.

"There are many things motorists can do to ensure they are safe and responsible drivers," said Road Safety Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman.

"I am clear that we must continue to educate and encourage motorists about how to achieve this, as well as robustly enforce the law to discourage those that think it is OK to break it. That is why we are introducing penalty points and a bigger £60 fine for those who insist on selfishly endangering the lives of others by using a hand-held mobile at the wheel. And we will also soon be launching our first hard-hitting television campaign to make motorists think twice about using their mobiles."

If, instead of a fixed penalty notice, the case is escalated to the courts for some reason, the maximum fine payable is £1,000 for car drivers and £2,500 for those in charge of buses, coaches, lorries and vans.

Meredydd Hughes, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead for Roads Policing and Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, added: "It's important to remember that 77,000 people have already been fined for driving whilst using their mobile phones, a figure that highlights this offence is policed robustly. The law will continue to be enforced and with the provision of penalties extending to not having proper control of a vehicle drivers need to be aware that not concentrating on the road could not only cause an accident but also earn them points on their licence and a fine on top of that.

"Driving whilst using a mobile phone is not acceptable and these penalties will hopefully deter those who think they are above the law."

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