The government is planning to introduce tougher penalties for motorists that are caught using a mobile phone whilst driving.
Plans will be put forward to increase the penalty for using your mobile phone whilst driving in an attempt to deter repeat offenders. The proposals are part of the government’s Road Safety Plan and will be discussed at a consultation next year.
The suggested course of action is to increase fixed penalty notices to £150 from £100. The plans also state that the number of penalty points received should increase from three to four. Drivers of Lorries and other large vehicles would receive six penalty points under the new rules as accidents they’re involved in are likely to be more serious.
If you’re caught using your phone when driving your license may be endorsed with a code CU80 driving conviction.
This isn’t the first time that the government has introduced harsher fines for using a mobile phone when driving. In 2013 fixed penalty notices rose from £60 to £100.
Generally, first time offenders are offered an educational course, similar to the speeding awareness course, rather than being fined or receiving points. The new plans suggest maintaining this course of action as they are primarily aimed towards drivers that continue to flout the law.
“Using a mobile phone at the wheel is reckless and costs lives” – Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
“We will take action to tackle this persistent problem, with an emphasis on the most serious offenders. The message is clear: keep your hands on the wheel, not your phone. If you keep taking calls while at the wheel, you could end up being banned from the road,” he said.
Accidents involving a driver using a mobile phone have killed 205 people in the last decade. In the year 2014 it was determined that the use of a mobile phone was the contributing factor in 21 fatal accidents. To put that number in to context; using a mobile phone whilst driving was the reason behind 1.2 percent of all fatalities on Britain’s roads.
Despite using your mobile phone whilst driving becoming more socially unacceptable, research from the AA suggests that three quarters of drivers regularly see other motorists using their phone whilst behind the wheel.
Motoring groups are welcoming these proposed changes, if people can be deterred from using a mobile phone whilst driving, the number of people killed in accidents each year could drastically reduce.
Police forces across the UK are heavily targeting uninsured drivers. With well over one million cars now seized, it’s no surprise that demand for impounded car insurance is at an all time high. If your car has been seized by the police you will need to arrange insurance that allows to you to collect it from the compound.
