UK to Make It Illegal to Drive and Chat

The UK government is planning to make it illegal to drive a car while holding a cell phone from December this year. Initially offenders will be subject to a US$50 fine, which can be increased to a maximum fine of US$1670 if the matter goes to court. The Government is planning to legislate to make it an endorseable offence, so that drivers will get three points on their licence each time they are caught holding a phone.

Road Safety Minister David Jamieson said "Driving whilst using a mobile phone is dangerous. We are all too familiar with the sight of people driving along while holding and talking on their mobile phones. Any driver will be distracted by a phone call or text message. It affects the ability to concentrate and anticipate the road ahead, putting the driver and other road users at risk.

"Our decision to introduce this new offence will make the roads safer for us all. Missing a call won't kill you - an accident quite possibly could."

The government held a consultation, and says that of the approximately 1,000 responses received, 88% were broadly in favour of the introduction of a new offence.

The new offence will be created by a new regulation to be added to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. These will now be prepared and laid before Parliament to enable the new offence to take effect from 1 December 2003.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has welcomed the Government's decision to ban the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving, but warned that motorists should not start using hands-free sets thinking they are safe. RoSPA says that it knows of more than 20 deaths on Britain's roads where mobile phones have been implicated - hands-free phones were being used in at least two of those tragedies. It is believed thousands of road accidents have been caused by people talking on the phone.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said: "We are delighted to see a new law, but it will not have the impact we have been hoping for if people switch to hands-free devices instead. It is the telephone conversation that is the main problem. People are drawn into the conversation and ignore what is happening on the road around them. They vary their speed, drive closer to other vehicles, wander about on the road and their reactions are slower.

"We are worried that the powerful mobile phone industry will use the new law as an opportunity to market hands-free kits claiming they are safe, when in fact they are not."

Posted to the site on 25th June 2003