Midlands police force has said that a “worrying” trend of driving while using a mobile phone – particularly to watch films and TV – is “totally unacceptable”.
Warwickshire Police said that during a recent operation, four drivers were caught watching videos while driving on the motorway through the county.
Officers warned that motorists should be keeping their “full attention” on the road.
Sergeant Shaun Bridle said: “When driving, it is essential to keep your full attention on the road because your safety, the safety of your passengers and the safety of other road users is far more important than a film or text. It is totally unacceptable to watch a film or programme whilst driving or to interact in any way with a hand-held mobile phone.”
In addition to the four watching videos, another 39 were stopped and handed traffic offence reports for using a hand-held phone at the wheel, one of which was the driver of a school bus with children on board.
Each motorist caught using their mobile phone while driving faces a £200 fine and six penalty points.
Philip Seccombe, Warwickshire police and crime commissioner and chair of the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership said: “It’s disappointing to see so many drivers placing others at risk by using their mobile phones while driving, whether by making calls or, even more alarmingly, by watching videos while behind the wheel. This can never be acceptable and demonstrates why as a partnership we are putting so much emphasis on changing general attitudes to driving.
“Only by everyone becoming responsible road users can we achieve our aim of reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 50% by 2030.”
