Police launch blitz on motorists using mobile phones while driving

POLICE are urging motorists to avoid deadly distractions at the wheel through a targeted mobile phone enforcement and education campaign in November.
They say using a mobile phone while driving is a potentially fatal distraction and has been an illegal offence since December 2003.
Studies show that drivers using a mobile are slower at recognising and reacting to hazards and a split-second lapse in concentration could result in a collision.
The penalty for using a mobile phone while driving has steadily increased over the years and is now a £100 fine and three penalty points on the offender’s licence. However, the government has recently proposed this should increase to six penalty points and a £200 fine. These changes are expected to take effect in the first half of 2017.
As a result officers will be out on the roads over the coming weeks, carrying out targeted enforcement and cracking down on any motorists using their phones at the wheel.
As well as enforcement, they will also be explaining some of the implications of doing so, whether that is a criminal conviction or causing the death of another road user because they weren’t paying attention to the road.