Mobile phone motorists face jail

News | HSP
02.01.2008

Motorists who drive using handheld mobile phones could face up to two years in jail, following new guidance on what constitutes "dangerous driving" published by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Most drivers using handheld mobiles will still face the standard penalty of a fine and points. But the new guidelines mean that where driving falls far short of what is safe, prosecutors can now press charges of dangerous driving, rather than the lesser charge of careless driving. Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald said the policy change addressed public concern about the dangers of driving while using a phone and meant that "a charge of dangerous driving will now be the starting point for this offence, where there is clear evidence that danger has been caused by its use".

Rob Gifford, executive director of the parliamentary advisory council on transport safety, emphasised that it is not "every single driver using a mobile phone while driving who faces jail." Instead, it is the few drivers whose behaviour leads them to have a crash when they are using a mobile at the same time. "What people are being reminded is that driving is a complicated activity and it is better to concentrate on driving than talking."
 
Sheila Ranger, head of campaigns at the RAC, said it was "entirely appropriate" to have this charge available for the most extreme circumstances. "This is for people who are doing the most outrageous acts on their phone. We still see terrible crashes where people have been texting, driving into the back of stationary queues because they haven't seen them."

The RAC is calling for greater enforcement of the 2003 ban on using handheld mobiles while driving. According to research by the Transport Research Laboratory, around half a million motorists a day are still making calls on handheld mobiles. "It's got to be enforced; if the law is there but not enforced, it's a mockery," said Ranger. She would like to see police on the streets taking action. "The best deterrent is for a motorist to be either pulled over themselves or know someone else who has been stopped."

The new CPS guidance is available at www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/pbd_policy.html It applies only to drivers in England and Wales and there are currently no plans for change in Scotland.