From March 1, you will receive a £200 fine and six penalty points on your licence if you use your mobile phone while driving.—Sussex Police, 27 February 2017
These changes, which are double the original consequences of £100 and three points, are the result of a government consultation with the public, so they reflect not only how socially unacceptable the Department for Transport want to make the practice, but also how intolerant the majority of the public are of it.
Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) has been running a campaign since January entitled It Can Wait, which stresses that nothing is as important as focussing on driving, and whatever your phone is doing, your main concern should be getting to your destination in one piece.
With these changes in the penalties, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) is leading a national week of enforcement specifically surrounding this topic. Surrey and Sussex Police forces are deploying officers for a highly-visible operation which will target motorists who do not see the risks of what they are doing, and who continue to put other road users in danger.
Superintendent Chris Moon, head of the Roads Policing (RPU) for both forces, had this to say:
“Using your mobile phone while driving has long been a very dangerous activity, and is a reason for many serious crashes. The new penalties reflect this and show that using a phone while driving won’t be tolerated. Although mobile phones are seemingly essential to modern-day life, that does not mean you have to be on it or able to answer it every moment of the day. Our advice is to put your phone on silent, put it in the glove box, or turn it off completely. Get into the habit of telling people who may contact you that you will be driving, and it is also their responsibility to not call you while you are doing this.”
Last year, 22 collisions cited mobile phones as a causation factor. There were 1,058 tickets sent out for mobile phone offences, and Operation Crackdown, Sussex Police’s public report tool for anti-social driving, received 3103 reports of motorists being on their mobiles.
The law states that the only time you can use a hand-held mobile phone while driving is when calling 999 in an emergency. Hands-free kits are allowed by law, but they could still be an in-car distraction. If an officer thinks you are not in proper control of the vehicle, this could also be an offence.
We are calling on members of the public to back this campaign. You can get involved by sharing our social media posts, encouraging friends and family to put their phones down, turn your own phone off or onto silent when driving, and report other drivers using their mobiles to Operation Crackdown. Nothing is so important on your phone that it can’t wait until you’ve got to your destination.
SSRP is a partnership made up of Sussex Police, East and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Services, East and West Sussex County Councils, Brighton & Hove City Council and Highways England.
