Six points on licence and £200 fine for drivers caught on their phone

Drivers caught using their phone whilst driving will receive six points on their licence from March.

The new, stricter measures are set to come into effect from 1st March 2017, and will also see motorists slapped with £200 fines.

The changes are set to have a significant impact on young drivers in particular, as they risk having their driving licence revoked following a first offence.

Motorists will no longer be offered the opportunity to go on a driver awareness course.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she wants to make using a mobile phone at the wheel as socially unacceptable as drink-driving.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “By ruling out courses and doubling the fine, ministers are reflecting public concern and showing they want to stamp out a potentially lethal activity before it becomes entrenched behaviour for a growing number of drivers.”

Police say despite warnings, drivers are still being seen with phones held to their ears.

Others drive and text, and even ‘live-stream’ their driving on Snapchat or Instagram in a bid to to impress friends.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Roads Policing, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport said: “This week forces will be working to make driving distracted as socially unacceptable as drink driving through enforcing strong deterrents and powerful messages to make people think twice about their driving habits.

“Encouraging results from last year’s campaign against mobile phone use show how effective new tactics and innovative approaches can be. Officers will continue to use intelligence-led tactics to target police activity and resources and catch repeat offenders.

“Forces will be working throughout the year to tackle this behaviour by motorists with national partners and the public.”

DfT figures show that a driver impaired or distracted by their phone was a contributory factor in 440 accidents in Britain last year, including 22 which were fatal and 75 classed as serious.

Mrs May said the Government would work with the public to “raise awareness” of the dangers of driving and dialling.

And she said that punishments for drivers who kill and maim people because their attention is on their phone should be made to “fit the crime”, as a deterrent to other motorists.

Ministers are launching a consultation on dangerous driving offences.

Read more: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/using-your-phone-driving-land-12495015