Phone Legislation
On 1 December 2003, a law came into force to prohibit drivers using a hand-held mobile phone, or similar device, while driving. It also made it an offence to "cause or permit" a driver to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving, or to use a hand-held mobile phone while supervising a driver who only has a provisional licence. The penalties were initially a fixed penalty of £30 or a fine of up to £1,000 if the offender goes to court (£2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles or passenger carrying vehicles with 9 or more passenger seats)From midnight on February 27th 2007 tough new penalties for using hand held mobile phones came into effect
The new legislation states that you must not:
- Drive whilst holding a mobile phone
- Supervise a driver whilst holding a mobile phone
- Cause or permit a driver to drive whilst holding a mobile phone
If caught, you can expect:
- 3 penalty points on your licence
- Fixed penalty notice fine of £60
- Cases dealt with by the court can incur a fine of up to £1,000 or £2,500
This new legislation gives the Police the power to respond to the increasing number of accident caused by drivers using their mobiles, expect them to enforce these new powers as strongly as possible.
The Definition of a Hand-Held Mobile Phone
The Regulation includes any "device, other than a two-way radio, which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data".
It states that a "mobile telephone or other device is to be treated as hand-held if it is, or must be, held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function". "interactive communication function" includes:
- Sending or receiving oral or written messages
- Sending or receiving facsimile documents
- Sending or receiving still or moving images
- Providing access to the internet