Motoring group, the RAC, has said that while they welcome the move to increase fines and penalties for drivers that are caught using their mobile phone while driving, they doubt that it will have any positive affect, unless there is a simultaneous push to enforce the laws.
Despite the fact that the number of accidents caused by mobile phone using drivers has increased to nearly 500 a year, the number of prosecutions for this offence has dropped significantly. The government has said that it will increase fines and the number of penalty points given to offenders, but the RAC has said that stricter penalties are only going to prove effective if police forces are encouraged to police the roads and are given the resources to try and catch those that are guilty of the crime.
Under current motoring laws, offenders that are caught holding a mobile phone while driving can receive a fine of £100 and 3 points on their driving licence. The government has recently announced that it wants to increase the fine for all offenders to £150, while repeat offenders will receive 4 penalty points, and drivers of larger vehicles like HGVs and buses, who have the potential to cause much more serious accidents, will receive 6 points.
They have also said that first time offenders will be offered, in most cases, the opportunity to take a driver awareness course rather than face the points and the fine, but this would not be an option for second or subsequent offences. They hope that by increasing the penalties faced, drivers will be less inclined to use their mobile phone, thereby reducing the number of accidents and injuries that are caused by mobile phone use while driving.
The RAC is one of a number of groups that has welcomed the increase in penalties, but with the caveat that no matter how much fines are increased, if the laws are not properly policed and drivers are not actively pursued for their use of mobile phones, then the changes will have little to no effect on accident rates.
