From Tuesday 27th February drivers caught using their phone whilst at the wheel will face 3 points on their licence and a £60 on the spot fine. The change in penalty comes as new research shows that 1 in 5 people still use their mobile whilst at the wheel.

Driving whilst using a hand-held mobile phone ranks alongside drink driving in terms of impairment and in reality the use of a hands-free phone is just as bad. Research in 2002 demonstrated that using a hand held mobile phone while driving can slow reaction times by nearly 50% compared to normal driving, so putting the driver and others at serious risk. It also shows that reaction times can be on average 30% slower when using a hand-held phone compared to being drunk. The use of hands-free phones makes very little difference to the distraction resulting from the conversation.

At the moment this is seen as a 'soft' law that is rarely enforced and people are ignorant of the dangers involved. Originally introduced in December 2003, the offence currently incurs a fine of £30. However, the police do enforce it. Some 75,000 penalties were issued or cases taken to court in 2004.

Whilst hands-free equipment is not prohibited, if a driver is distracted by a call on a hands-free phone and drives poorly as a result, then the police use the offence of failing to have proper control. That has exactly the same penalties as the hand-held phone offence.

The law also states that any person, such as an employer, can be prosecuted if they require a driver to use any hand-held phone or not to have proper control while driving.

The Department for Transport advice will remain that drivers should switch to voicemail and not use a mobile while driving at any time.

Whilst 3 out of 4 drivers are not presently aware that the penalties are going to change, over 50% of motorists surveyed said that the increased penalty will discourage them from using their phone whilst driving, according to new research conducted by the Department of Transport.

David Frost from LARSOA said: "It's just as dangerous to use a hands-free kit to talk when driving as it is to use a hand-held phone. The issue is not so much with your hands as with your head. If you're talking on the phone then you simply aren't paying enough attention to the road. THINK! Switch off before you drive off."

For more information visit: http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/mobilephones/mobilephones.htm.

James Mulrennan - 23 Jan 2007