Police chief welcomes tougher penalties for drivers using mobile phones

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However, this is all set to change from Wednesday 1 March 2017 when both the fine and the number of points will double to £200 and six points and for those found guilty of driving whilst using a mobile phone the option to take a course will be removed.

As of today, police are now armed with new legislation to clampdown on drivers who use their mobile phone behind the wheel.

In addition, new drivers caught using their phone behind the wheel within two years of passing their test will lose their license and have to retake it.

The new punishments will come with a hard-hitting advertising campaign.

Dorset Police said that mobile phone use was a contributory factor in 97 fatal or serious road collisions in the United Kingdom during 2015.

The new penalties reflect this and demonstrate that using a phone while driving won’t be tolerated.

Mr Sammons said: “We need using mobile phones to become as anti-social as drink-driving”.

It’s illegal to use a handheld mobile when driving.

Home Office data shows just 16,900 drivers were handed fixed penalty notices for illegally using a phone in England and Wales in 2015, compared with 123,100 in 2011.

The Government’s Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling, said: “Our message is simple and clear: do not get distracted by your mobile phone while driving”.

United Kingdom drivers can still use their phones as navigation systems, provided the phone is mounted in a hands-free cradle, but an accident stemming from its use can still leave the driver liable.

“However, it is just as important that laws are seen to be enforced, and the decline in the numbers of dedicated road traffic police has only heightened the feeling that those who use a handheld phone while driving simply get away with it”.

“You see so many people sitting on their phones at traffic lights and stuff and it’s ridiculous because they’re too busy on their phones and they don’t realise that the lights have went green”. Hands-free kits are allowed by law, but they could still be an in-car distraction.

Simon Trott, managing director of National Accident Helpline, said: “We know that this is one of the main causes of accidents on the road, and we welcome any change in the law that improves road safety”.

Ron Hogg, Police, Crime and Victims Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, said “These new penalties are a real deterrent to risky driving. Maintaining control of any vehicle at all times is the only way to reduce these often tragic outcomes”.